Sport and stroke: what is the relationship?

Unfortunately, the cases of even high-level sportsmen whose life suddenly stops on the field are not isolated. But let us not be fooled: sport is to blame.

It happened, and it continues to happen. Like the footballer Piermario Morosini, the volleyball player Vigor Bovolenta, the swimmer Dale Oen. And you immediately think of a heart attack, a cardiac arrest, a stroke.

Yet these are great champions, overtrained, closely followed by sports doctors. And that they had passed all the planned visits.

And then the doubt could arise: too much sport hurts? The most sensible answer seems to be: no, if you are healthy.

Silent and hereditary pathologies

The greater stress to which the cardiovascular system of athletes is subjected exposes to the risk of precipitating a silent, often hereditary pathology.

For a young person with a malformation in the cerebral arteries or a congenital aneurysm, intense sports training can be the trigger for a hemorrhagic stroke.

Or an atrial fibrillation, if the athlete’s heart does not beat properly due to defects in the conduction system or the presence of valve deficits.

In this case the blood inside the heart stagnates and facilitates the formation of microthrombi that soon reach the brain.

Immediate intervention crucial

Psychophysical stress can accelerate or trigger the event, but it should not be forgotten that stroke always occurs suddenly. It does not matter if you are engaged in a sports activity or you are quietly sitting down to dinner, or sleeping.

What can make the difference is, in whatever situation you find yourself, immediate assistance with transport to a Stroke Unit.

This is the only way to intervene in time with optimal treatment and reduce complications.

Constant training, sheltered heart

It is therefore not sport that can hurt the heart, on the contrary. Because the arteries are put to the test by atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, incorrect lifestyle habits.

All factors that sport helps to keep away. Regular physical activity improves blood vessel functions, fights inflammation of the arteries, regulates pressure and reduces fat.

But above all it seems to have an important positive influence on blood clotting functions.

The brain is also protected

And in the prestigious journal Neurology we read: regular physical activity would be able not only to prevent stroke, but also to reduce its consequences.

Physically fit people have lighter cerebrovascular events and half the mortality rate compared to those who lead a sedentary life.