Cardiology experts and doctors have been urged by a sports-loving royal to suggest strategies that allow disease-defeating sporting activities to be enjoyed in the safest way possible, during a three-day sports medicine conference.
They have also been called on to unlock the mystery behind rare sudden cardiac arrests suffered by some athletes.
His Majesty King Hamad’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa kicked off the first-ever Sports Cardiology Congress yesterday at the Gulf Hotel Bahrain, Convention and Spa.
Shaikh Nasser also reiterated his firm belief that a healthy exercise regimen is key to preventing health-related illnesses in the long-term. “I’m a strong believer that there is no drug in this whole world that reduces heart disease by five times or more than a person with a high ‘VO2 max level’,” Shaikh Nasser said, during his opening remarks.
“The numbers I really want to know – how many of the people in Bahrain have a high VO2 max level? And then we can conduct studies to determine their relationship with heart disease and how to overcome these challenges.”
VO2 max, derived from V for Volume and O2 for oxygen, is the maximum rate of oxygen consumption measured during exercise of increasing intensity. Tests that measure VO2 max are considered the gold standard for measuring cardiovascular fitness.
The conference, being held under the theme ‘Athletes’ Heart’ will also be exploring the subject of sudden cardiac deaths (SCDs) especially amongst young professional sportspersons.
SCD is a sudden, unexpected death resulting from the abrupt loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness. It is the most common medical cause of death in athletes, with an incidence of around 1 in 40,000 to 1 in 80,000 athletes per year according to the most recent estimates.
“My second question is one that every Bahraini sports and especially football fan has when we hear about or see a football player just stop suddenly in the middle of a pitch and collapse,” Shaikh Nasser continued.
SCDs have been in the global spotlight since they affected a number of professional athletes, most recently footballer Christian Eriksen who collapsed during Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland in June and survived thanks to immediate medical attention.
Shaikh Nasser went on to say that he looked forward to reviewing the recommendations that emerge from the three-day conference and coming up with a policy solution based on the studies.
Delegates for the event, which is being co-organised by the Health Ministry, Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa Cardiac Specialist Centre and the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, discussed SCDs, pre-participation screening and arrhythmias, with a specialised focus on athletes, yesterday.
An arrhythmia is a problem with the rate or rhythm of a person’s heartbeat. Italian professor Domenico Corrado discussed the epidemiology behind SCDs in yesterday’s first session.
Today, speakers will focus on managing athletes with cardiovascular diseases in two sessions, with speakers from Italy, US, UK and Lebanon taking the stage.
Tomorrow, top physiologists, including Team Bahrain Victorious head doctor Daniele Zaccaria, will discuss the pathophysiology of exercise. In addition, National Taskforce for Combating Covid-19 Monitoring Committee head Lieutenant Colonel Dr Manaf Al Qahtani will discuss the impact of the pandemic and disease on sports and exercise.
naman@gulfweekly.com
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