Question by Andreas Hauff, by e-mail:
Despite many years of intensive road bike training and many difficult cycling marathons, I (44) suffered a heart attack in July 2006. Before that, for two years I had felt slight pain behind my sternum at the start of running sessions, combined with breathing difficulties. After the heart attack, one of the narrowed coronary arteries was widened with the help of a stent, and I take beta blockers, among other things. Since then, I have limited myself to occasional basic training on the bike, otherwise Nordic walking and swimming. Is my excessive road cycling responsible for my coronary disease? Could dietary supplements (vitamins) have prevented it? How can I continue cycling? Andreas Hauff, by e-mail
Expert advice: There are many causes of a heart attack: above all, high cholesterol and blood lipid levels, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and smoking constrict and calcify the coronary arteries. Cycling is not one of the causes - on the contrary. As a rule, dietary supplements cannot prevent coronary artery calcification; only omega-3 fatty acids, which are concentrated in fish, olive oil, rapeseed oil and some types of nuts, have a protective effect on the blood vessels. The feeling of tightness in your chest that you describe strongly suggests that your coronary arteries are narrowed. It should be noted that beta-blocker treatment is not ideal for endurance sports unless absolutely necessary; calcium antagonists or ACE inhibitors are the better choice here. As the symptoms you have described mean that you are clearly at risk of a heart attack, you should undergo further differentiated diagnostics. If the cause can be remedied, you can of course continue to cycle, but not competitively, but as a tourist. Determine your basic endurance level and do not exceed your individual anaerobic threshold.
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