For anyone who competes in endurance sports like cycling, triathlon, running races of all distances, and cross-country skiing, The Haywire Heart presents the evidence that going too hard or too long can damage your heart forever. You'll find what to watch out for, what to do about it, and how to protect your heart so you can enjoy the sports you love for years to come.
Exploring a group of conditions known as "athlete's heart," The Haywire Heart is a wide-ranging look at the warning signs, symptoms, and how to recognize your potential risk. Leading cardiac electrophysiologist and masters athlete Dr. John Mandrola explores the prevention and treatment of heart conditions in athletes like
arrhythmia
atrial fibrillation and flutter
tachycardia
hypertrophy
and coronary artery disease.
These heart problems are appearing with alarming frequency among masters athletes who are pushing their bodies harder than ever in the hope that exercise will keep them healthy and strong into their senior years. This second edition offers a critical look at the latest research about exercise intensity and duration, recovery, inflammation and calcification, and the ways athletes inflict lasting harm. In addition, it offers a frank discussion of exercise addiction and the mental habits that prevent athletes from seeking medical help when they need it, as well as an invaluable guide on how to talk with your doctor about your condition and its proven treatments.
The book is complete with gripping case studies of elite and age-group athletes from journalist Chris Case, including the scary condition that nearly killed cyclist and coauthor Lennard Zinn. Heart conditions affect hardcore athletes as well as those who take up sports seeking better health and weight loss. The Haywire Heart is a groundbreaking and critically important guide to heart care for athletes.
Chris Case is the managing editor of VeloNews, and author of "Cycling to Extremes," the groundbreaking VeloNews story that brought the problem of the athlete's heart to widespread attention. He is a graduate of Colgate University and holds a B.S. in Neuroscience and also Art and Art History.
Case worked at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, conducting research on patients with schizophrenia in one of the world's largest multidisciplinary studies of the devastating disease. After moving to Colorado and conducting studies on stem-cell treatments of Parkinson's disease at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, he made a drastic switch, enrolling in the graduate journalism program at the University of Texas at Austin, with a concentration in documentary photography. It was in Austin that he rediscovered his love of cycling, becoming a member of the university's elite team and competing in multiple national collegiate championship races. He was the conference cyclocross champion in 2006, in his first year racing that discipline.
After receiving his master's degree, he worked as a freelance newspaper photographer in the Denver metropolitan area. He then served as the first creative director for the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum from 2006 to 2008. Simultaneously, he shifted into the role of editor and director of photography and design of Trail & Timberline, the magazine published by the Colorado Mountain Club since 1918. As a photographer and writer, he worked for newspapers, national magazines, and national conservation organizations, and co-authored 100 Years Up High: Colorado Mountains and Mountaineers. In 2012, he joined the staff of VeloNews as the managing editor. That year he also earned silver medals at the U.S. national cyclocross championships and master's world championships.