Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
The evidence suggests that it's not simply riding a lot that can damage the heart with time. Rather it's repeatedly taking it to the limit on long endurance events or doing as many intervals as recovery allows for many years. Or fartlek, that sort of thing. I have 3 friends who can no longer go hard due to Afib. They are poster boys for the mentioned practices. They still ride, but slower. I had a cardiologist who'd worked with cycling teams really give me the lecture about 15 years ago. Going hard is fine. Riding a lot is fine. But constantly going hard may not be fine. The running story is an analogue. As much as the OP is riding, it's probably not an issue for him.
This. I posted the link to the Velo News article in the other thread he started about bird bones. It really does seem that all evidence of these heart issues and scarring/damage are specific to people who continue to do regular racing and interval training into their 50s/60s with huge volume and little recovery. Even as a 29 year old I'm nowhere near that level of intensity, so it seems like this warning would only apply to a very, very select portion of the cycling population.
Some of the things in that article did alarm me a little as far as risk factors. I do have a very low resting HR (first thing in the morning it's around 43, normally it'll be about 52-55 sitting at my desk), and I do occasionally (once every few months) feel a "hiccup" which according to that article is an early contraction and isn't a health risk, but is a sign of potential issues later on with continued training.
Luckily, I'm going to my doc this week for a checkup and he's an avid cyclist/racer, so I'd love to ask him his opinion on all this. Not a cardiologist, but he's probably done some research into the matter for his own curiosity.