ROLE OF PHYSICAL FITNESS AND CARDIOVASCULAR TRAINING IN PREVENTING CARDIAC ARREST AMONG ATHLETES

Abstract

Study Background: Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in athletes, especially those taking part in high-intensity sports. The present study explores their combined effects with regard to the potential association of physical fitness and cardiovascular training and personalized nutrigenomics-based nutrition plans that may enhance cardiovascular health in elite athletes, by lowering the risk of cardiac arrest. Material and Methods: Thirty elite athletes (15 males and 15 females) were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. The intervention consisted of 12 week program that included cardiovascular (aerobic endurance and high-intensity interval training) and individualized nutrigenomic-based nutrition. Pre- and post-intervention cardiovascular biomarkers, performance metrics, and recovery markers were assessed. Descriptive statistics and statistical tests were performed with SPSS v.26. 0.Results:Result of the study indicated a significant reduced cardio-vascular traits (HRV, resting HR), Other inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein), as well as an increase in vasculometric measures, i.e, VO2 max, Sprint time, and recovery measures (HR-recovery, lactate clearance rate). The p-value for these changes was <0.05 and the effect size was medium to large. Conclusion: The results of the study indicates that a protocol of combined cardiovascular structured exercise and individualized nutrigenomic-guided dietary intervention is able to achieve significant improvement both in cardio-vascular health conditions, performance during physical exercise and recovery times after training. This technique has potential implications for decreasing risk of cardiac arrest in athletic individuals and promoting increased cardiovascular tolerance.