It's healthy to play sports. But sports can also be harmful. Inflammation of the heart muscle can lead to death. What are the symptoms of this disease? And when is sport something that is not healthy?
Dr. Ursula Hildebrandt's opponents are very small, they can only be seen under a microscope. However, they can also kill. These are germs that reach the heart through the bloodstream and cause inflammation. Ursula Hildebrandt works at the Sports Faculty in Cologne. She treats athletes who suffer from inflammation of the heart muscle. If this disease occurs, the heart can no longer pump a sufficient amount of blood through the body.
Anyone can get sick
"In principle, anyone can get this disease. Both athletes and people who sit on the couch all day," says Hildebrandt. However, athletes and physically active people are more exposed to danger. Namely, in numerous cases, inflammation of the heart muscle, myocarditis, occurs when people start training too early after suffering from an infection.
When can playing sports become dangerous? Then when the body is weakened by the disease. In principle, every organism is more susceptible to infections immediately after sports activities because the blood passes through the heart faster then. Increased eddies in the flowing blood occur behind the heart valves. Therefore, the causative agents of inflammation can more easily find themselves and linger in the space just below the sphincter. The result can be inflammation of the heart muscle.
Basic rules for effective protection
That is why it is very important that every disease is "aged out" properly. Before starting with, say, running, at least two days should pass since the last elevated temperature you had. In addition, when blowing the nose, no visible yellow-green marks should remain on the tissue. This is a sign that the bacteria are still in the body.
For Ursula Hildebrandt, a particular problem is that the causative agents of heart muscle inflammation cause different symptoms. They range from "shortness of breath" and chest pain, all the way to high blood pressure and night sweats. These are exactly the reasons why an accurate diagnosis is often reached too late. And it can be a real time bomb: if the patient suddenly exposes himself to physical exertion, undetected inflammation of the heart muscle can cause cardiac arrest and death.
Sudden death of Rene Herms
German athlete Rene Herms was found dead in his apartment in 2009. The true cause of death was only revealed after an autopsy. Herms died as a result of an undetected inflammation of the heart muscle, and he died after training.
The same could have happened to Fabian Spinrat. On a shelf in his room are a number of trophies and medals. It all started when this 18-year-old athlete felt very tired after a race. "It's normal, but it's normal for the exhaustion to wear off after ten minutes of rest. After the race, I slept for five hours," says Fabian.
Cessation of training
His doctor suspected an infection on Wednesday and prescribed antibiotics. Since the symptoms did not disappear even after a month and a half, more detailed examinations showed that he was suffering from inflammation of the heart muscle. He had to stop training for a full six months. He took the elevator to the apartment instead of the stairs. Running - forbidden! In the meantime, the heart muscle was healed and he continued to play sports.
"If he had started training before that prescribed break, it could have caused permanent heart damage," warns Ursula Hildebrandt. She says that each disease is a case for itself, but that the general rule is that it is necessary to abstain from sports and alcohol for at least six months, and to rest a lot and sleep as much as possible.
Ursula Hidebrandt's opponents may be microscopically small, but you can protect yourself from them: every infection should be "laid down" and we should listen carefully to the signals sent by our body.
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