Episode
Intense Exercise & Potential Heart Damage (aka Athlete's Heart)
- Podcast
- Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin
- Published
- May 13, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 6295
- Processing state
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Summary
In this episode, I cover "athlete's heart" — the paradox where the same cardiovascular adaptations that make endurance athletes exceptional can also mimic, and sometimes mask, real risk. I trace the history of what’s now known as exercise-induced cardiovascular remodeling (EICR), and walk through what's actually happening structurally, functionally, and electrically in a trained heart. I separate adaptive changes like left ventricular dilation and increased stroke volume from genuinely concerning issues such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation, coronary calcification, and myocardial fibrosis. I also answer the question, "is too much exercise bad for the heart?" This episode is for endurance athletes, lifters, coaches, along with anyone who might have a family history of heart disease. Show notes: https://www.performpodcast.com/episodes/athletes-heart-intense-exercise-heart-damage Sponsors Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/perform TrueMed: https://truemed.com/perform Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/perform Chapters (00:00:00) Introduction & the Athlete's Heart Paradox (00:07:11) History of Athlete's Heart (00:09:24) Heart Anatomy & Physiology Primer (00:28:03) What Goes Wrong: Heart Attacks & Arrhythmias (00:32:54) Genetic Causes: WPW, LDS & Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (00:39:59) Exercise-Induced Cardiovascular Remodeling (EICR) (00:53:12) Endurance vs. Strength Training Adaptations (01:08:00) When Exercise Goes Too Far: AFib, Calcification & Fibrosis (01:27:06) Screening, Testing & Interventions (01:37:37) Summary Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices