New research based from Leeds hospitals to monitor heartbeats of athletes to measure impact on heart with implant monitor

A project at the University, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), will see 106 veteran athletes fitted with a small implantable monitor.

The devices are around half the size of a ballpoint pen and will be implanted under the skin on the athlete’s chests.

Heart scarring is a key feature of many heart diseases and has a strong association with abnormal heart rhythms, which can cause life-threatening cardiac arrest.

A previous small study involving male athletes aged over 50 found that about half of the participants had developed scarring on their heart. It is thought this could be caused by their levels of exercise, as during endurance sports like long-distance running and cycling the heart must work even harder to pump blood.

However, it remains unclear how scarring has developed.

The new monitor will measure every each of the participants’ heartbeats over two years, allowing researchers to assess the athletes’ heart rate during and after exercise.

Previously, this measurement has been carried out using sensor stickers and fitness trackers, which have not always been accurate.

The research is now underway at the Advanced Imaging Centre at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and is being led by Dr Peter Swoboda, a cardiologist from the School of Medicine.

He said: “Exercise is good for the heart, but studies have suggested that people who participate in long term endurance sport could lose the health benefits of exercise – and in some cases, may even be damaging their hearts over time.

“For an athlete, an abnormal heart rhythm can often result in the end of their career, and we are all familiar of the devastating but rare occurrence of sudden death during sport.

“With the implantable monitors set to detect billions of heartbeats, we are going to learn so much through this study, including whether heart scarring is linked to irregular heart rhythms. This could help identify who is most at risk, and some of the lessons we learn could be applied to younger athletes, too.”

The athletes will also undergo MRI scans, which will look for signs of scarring and assess heart function, alongside blood and fitness tests.

Overall, the £320,000 project will aim to understand if heart scarring in athletes is linked to abnormal heart rhythms, and could inform future research around ways to avoid or reduce heart damage in endurance sports.

Dr Subreena Simrick, Senior Research Advisor at the BHF, said: “Physical activity can reduce the risk of heart and circulatory diseases, helping to control your weight and reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

“This research is looking at how endurance exercise impacts the heart, and whether heart scarring found in some athletes is a factor that leads to potentially dangerous irregular heartbeats. If it is, then this project could pave the way for further research into potential treatments and preventions, allowing athletes of all ages to participate in sport as safely as possible.”