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Athlete Heart Syndrome (AHS)

AHS is a medical condition where the heart of a person becomes enlarged due to prolonged exercise. This condition is common in athletes who train for many hours everyday. Although the condition is harmless, it is difficult to distinguish AHS from other more serious medical conditions.

When an athlete performs prolonged and intensive exercises, the heart will need to pump more blood and oxygen to his muscles. If the exercise is a daily routine, the heart will expand in order to adapt to the requirement for additional oxygen, by becoming enlarged. This will enable the heart to supply more blood and oxygen to the muscles during these periods of high demand. As a result, athletes tend to have lower heart rates during periods of rest.

Another significant reading is pulse pressure. This reading is the difference in blood pressure between systolic and diastolic readings. Normally during exercise, the systolic pressure will increase while the diastolic pressure will remain about the same. This will cause pulse pressure to increase during exercise.