Cycling Training · Public discussion

ECG for cyclists

Started by Skvira · · Last activity · 3 posts · 1,480 views

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Cycling Training
Published
8 September 2014
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15 September 2014
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Skvira
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  1. Since that moment when people recognized about heart electric activity, they start to measure it. First ECG was registered by French physicist Gabriel Lippmann. He used mercurial electrometer for this, but his electrocardiogram was not like modern one.
    First modern electrocardiogram was recorded by Willem Einthoven on string galvanometer in 1903. Later he describe waves and intervals of ECG, for that he was awarded by Nobel Prize in medicine.
    Electrocardiography – (ECG or EKG) is the recording of electrical activity of the heart. In medicine ECG allows to find symptoms of myocardial infarction, cardiac dysrhythmias, pulmonary embolism, heart murmur etc. This is useful method of heart health monitoring, but how we can use it in sport practice?
    The main idea of using ECG for monitoring physical abilities of human body is that the heart is muscle. We know that muscles adapts by different ways for different kinds of exercises. Heart as part of functional system, that provides muscular activity, work in different regimes during anaerobic or aerobic exercises. Functional systems adapts by differ for different kinds of muscle work. That is why myocardium has various electrical activity during season, while we use all the methods of sport training.
    What can ECG tell us about our training process?
    First of all ECG is the best way to predict overwork and overload during training. Higher voltage of P wave tells us about overload, because of atriums are most sensitive for this states.
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    The second is that we can monitor level of ventricles hypertrophy. Actually, the physical conditions of myocardium. Quantitative analysis of right and left ventricles hypertrophy can tell about prevalence of aerobic or anaerobic exercises in training. Both of this parameters has a relationship with athletes adaptation reserves. So we can figure out that moment when we must stop one block of exercises and start another.
    [CENTER][IMG]cyclingforums.com400[/IMG][/CENTER]

    Third is that ECG gives us information about trophic processes in heart. Good marker of successful adaptation – high T voltage.
    [CENTER][IMG]cyclingforums.com400[/IMG][/CENTER]

    Ones at month – the best interval for holding ECG tests. It is cheap and useful research method that can’t be ignored by coaches and thinking athletes. On the picture below you can see 4 ECG tests (T-II) of one sportsmen for four month period. Changes of electrical activity in myocardium are obvious:
    [CENTER][IMG]cyclingforums.com1000[/IMG][/CENTER]
    More articles about physiologycal tests for sport: cyclingscience.bizarticles

  2. Where are the studies that support this?

    Cardiac depolarization, repolarization amplitudes don't change much over varying loads. Isn't a depolarization cycle an all or nothing phenomena; unlike skeletal muscle, aren't all cells engaged on each beat? In each chamber isn't the deploarization pattern and timing constant from beat to beat?

    Even at a rapid tachycardia, the morphology of p and qrs waves is pretty constant.

    ECG is very useful in detecting pathological conditions, but can it really tell you how healthy and adapted a normal heart is over time?

    Echo cardioagraphy (ultrasound) will give much more direct measures of cardiac structural and functional changes.

  3. All you say about myocardium is right, but just for separate ECG. In the long periods of monitoring (more than 1 month) ECG pattern can vary greatly in both characteristics: intervals and waves. On the picture where I introduce results of 4 month ECG monitoring of one cyclist in second standard lead, you can see increase in TII from 1st measuring to 2nd, increase and reduction of RII from 1st to 4th. This is information from inside instructions for assessing ECG in special laboratory, that is why I don't adduce any links and values, just general information. You, if you want and interested in assessing your own ECG for fitness monitoring, can use main principles, that I describe, and extrapolate it on your performance.

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