The dangers of overdoing sports

Sudden death, stroke, injury during competition

On April 7, Hue Central Hospital confirmed that a female patient was admitted with a stroke and signs of cardiac arrest while participating in a running race. Despite doctors' efforts to save her, the patient did not survive. Also related to this race, doctors admitted 3 other cases for minor injuries.

A patient is being treated at Cho Ray Hospital for liver and kidney failure after participating in a 42km race.

This is not a rare incident in marathons in recent times. In May 2024, Cho Ray Hospital received patient TQT in critical condition due to acute rhabdomyolysis syndrome. The patient was lethargic, restless, had convulsions, and had dark brown urine. Doctors immediately provided emergency treatment, rehydration, alkalinized urine, and performed dialysis to save the patient's life.

At the same time, in Hanoi, a 34-year-old marathon runner collapsed just 100 meters from the finish line. The patient was resuscitated for about 30 minutes but was not effective, then transferred to the hospital for intensive care. Due to the severity of his condition, the runner died shortly thereafter.

Not only jogging, many other sports have also recorded serious incidents. Gia Dinh People's Hospital once received a 59-year-old man who suddenly had difficulty breathing, turned purple, and collapsed while lifting weights at the gym. Doctors had to both resuscitate the patient and perform emergency surgery to find a 7mm ruptured heart wound. The surgery lasted nearly 4 hours and saved the patient's life.

Most recently, a 30-year-old woman in Ho Chi Minh City had to be hospitalized due to an injury while playing pickleball. Based on the results of the imaging diagnosis, doctors at the Ho Chi Minh City Orthopedic Hospital determined that the patient had a fracture of the middle third of the left femur. Although the bone fusion surgery was successful, the patient will need at least 6 months of recovery before returning to playing sports.

Beware of incidents

According to Dr. Nguyen Hoang Hai, Director of Gia Dinh People's Hospital, appropriate physical exercise helps reduce the risk of cancer, improve health and mental comfort, improve sleep, maintain musculoskeletal function, maintain ideal weight, reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, control blood pressure, blood sugar, blood fat, etc.

However, cases of overtraining, including jogging, can lead to cardiovascular events. Studies worldwide show that the frequency of sudden cardiac death related to sports fluctuates around 4.6 per 1,000,000 people/year. Of these, 92% occur during sports; 7.4% occur immediately after exercise.

Doctors also warn that high-intensity sports activities can trigger cardiac arrest in people with existing risk factors, such as high blood pressure or a family history of sudden death.

However, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Hai emphasized that sudden cardiac death can be prevented through screening programs, especially in people aged 35 and over, thereby choosing appropriate levels of exercise to minimize cardiovascular events.

Currently, the jogging movement for health is growing strongly, attracting a large number of participants. Participants need to put safety first, measure their strength, adjust the distance and time to suit their health. Because running at high speed for a long time will make the heart work continuously, causing overload. At that time, the body experiences symptoms of chest tightness, rapid heartbeat, and sudden increase in blood pressure.

According to Dr. Pham Minh Huy, Department of Intensive Care and Anti-Poisoning, Cho Ray Hospital, over-exercising can have the opposite effect, so it is necessary to exercise at an appropriate level, start slowly and gradually increase the intensity, and not overexert yourself at once.

In case of symptoms such as excessive fatigue, inability to raise arms and legs, dark urine, athletes need to go to the hospital for timely examination and treatment.

MINH KHUE

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nguy-hiem-khi-choi-the-thao-qua-suc-post790495.html