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Enlarged Hearts Endanger Young Athletes
Ryan Shay, one of America's best distance runners, died during the men's marathon Olympic trials last week. He was five miles into a race when he collapsed. Shay had an enlarged heart and doctors think that was probably the cause of his death. Shay knew he had an enlarged heart since he was 14, when a doctor first noticed the condition. Shay's father Joe says that Ryan had been given the okay to compete.
The heart is a muscle that pumps blood through the body. Sometimes, when athletes work really hard, their heart gets bigger than normal, and that's called an enlarged heart. A person can also be born with an enlarged heart.
Having an enlarged heart can help an athlete, because it helps their body get all the oxygen they need to keep going. But in rare cases it can also lead to sudden death. Every year, about 125 athletes die suddenly from cardiac arrest, which means their hearts stopped pumping. Doctors think there might be link a between enlarged hearts and sudden death.
The American Heart Association recommends that young athletes take a screening test to see if they might be in danger of sudden death. It is very rare for an athlete to die the way Ryan Shay did, but it's worth the effort to prevent something like that from happening again.
I'm Lucy and that's what happened in Sports this week!
Test your heart health savvy. Play Just the Facts.
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