Olympic Athletes

What does it say about human health when 7.3% of the world’s elite athletes have underlying cardiovascular conditions? Out of 2000 athletes screened for Olympic competition, 171 had underlying cardiovascular abnormalities, of which six were considered life threatening. The Institute for Sport Medicine of the Italian Olympic Committee made this observation, and concluded: “”We cannot take it for granted that elite athletes are healthy. This study demonstrates that a more accurate assessment is necessary for elite professional athletes than for members of the general population, in view of the intensity and stress on their cardiovascular system through so many hours of training and competition. We suggest that our model of screening is applied to all elite athletes, regardless of the sport they practice.”   This builds a case for all athletes adhering to wearable monitors.  MORE

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