Bodybuilder athletes have a five times higher risk of heart attack: cardio experts

Chandigarh: Dr Harinder Singh Bedi – Director Cardio Vascular Sciences at the Park Grecian Hospital Mohali , Punjab – avers  that it is a well fact that male bodybuilder athletes have a 5 times higher risk of heart attack . This is due to multiple factors , he adds. Dr Bedi explained that such athletes can have heart disorder called cardiomyopathy which predisposes to sudden cardiac death (SCD) . This can be easily picked up by a simple test called a cardiac echo. Besides this athletes are sometimes given anabolic steroids and protein supplements which can damage the heart and kidneys . In  International competitions the athlete sometimes intentionally dehydrates to maintain a specified boy weight – this makes the blood thicker and predisposes to                  (pic credit-pinterest.com)  a heart attack,   due to a clot Intense burst of  exercise can unduly put a major stress on the heart . Dr Bedi recalled a former Mr Punjab who developed heart disease at a young age due to a  to a combination of above factors – he successfully underwent a bypass surgery by Dr Bedi .

A research paper in the prestigious European Heart Journal published in May 2025 has scientifically documented all the above – https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/46/30/3006/8131432  .

Dr Bedi stated that it is important to have regular heart check-ups, have  a graded exercise plan under a qualified coach, a prudent low fat zero deep fried diet and avoidance of any drug or  artificial supplements to keep the risk of heart attack in control in our bodybuilder athletes.