The intensive sport training provides important but reversible permanent modifications to cardiovascular apparatus.
The morphological changes are dependent upon the training kind:
- endurance: overall volume and mass
- power: hypertrophy of myocardium (muscle of the hearth)
The functional changes are in the form of sinus bradicardia (slow heartbeat), bringing to:
- atrioventricular block: stretching of beat interval (1/3 of athletes)
- ectopic beats: fallen heartbeat (normal people has at least 1 per day)
Sport Taxonomy based on Cardiovascular Effort
| # | Level | Examples | Heart Modifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minimal | jogging, march, cycletourism | not high hearthbeat, some peripheral resistances |
| 2 | Neurogenic |
car racing, shooting (emotional) |
increasing of heartbeats frequence |
| 3 | Pression | fast run, weightlifting | high heartbeat frequence, increase of vascular resistance and arterial pressure |
| 4 | Medium | soccer, tennis, basket | many and fast increases of heartbeat frequency and peripheral vascular opposition |
| 5 | High | marathon, agonistic bicycling, rowing | high hearthbeat frequence and |
http://besport.org/sportmedicina/cuore_atleta.htm