Latest news with #sportsmedicine


CBC
9 hours ago
- Health
- CBC
How sudden cardiac arrest can be different for athletes — based on their sex
Social Sharing When varsity rower Ruth McDonald competes, she's thinking about pushing herself hard and winning the race. The potential of suffering a medical emergency — while always possible — is the last thing on her mind. "Every sport, you have to be comfortable with pain and comfortable with getting uncomfortable," she said. "So something like injury or having cardiac arrest is not something you have on your mind, because you're so focused on working so hard and achieving the best results possible." Sudden cardiac arrests in female athletes are a rising concern for sports medicine experts because doctors say they're realizing how little they know about the heart health of female athletes, and their risk level for the condition. While rare, sudden cardiac arrests are a leading cause of death for young athletes. According to a Canadian study published in March, men are over 10 times more likely to experience a sports-related cardiac arrest than women. But women, when their hearts suddenly stop, are less likely to survive, according to several studies. Reasons unclear Dr. Paul Dorian, who co-authored the Canadian study, says there aren't clear explanations for the disparity between male and female athletes. But he pointed to one problem: Cardiac arrests in male athletes are more likely caused by heart rhythm disturbances, like an arrhythmia, due to a hardening of the arteries. "Think of it as a heart attack in waiting. So those are plumbing problems, which then cause an electric problem," said Dorian, a cardiologist at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital. In female athletes, by contrast, cardiac arrests are often from a different cause, says Dorian: They're more likely due to heart diseases from heritable causes, or which developed from viruses. Another factor, Dorian says, is that women may not always realize when they are about to have a cardiac arrest. Whereas men are more likely to have the classic symptoms of an emergency, like chest pain or chest tightness, women are more likely to experience symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath and exhaustion. Another key factor that can affect whether someone survives or dies of a sudden cardiac arrest: how quickly bystanders react, says Dorian. Bystanders tend to step in less frequently to resuscitate a woman, whether through CPR or putting the woman on an automated external defibrillator, also known as an AED. Researchers don't have a lot of data on why. It may be that some bystanders don't recognize the symptoms in women, or they feel reluctant to perform chest compressions, or to remove a woman's shirt and place the defibrillator pads on her chest. Physiological differences There are also differences between male hearts and female hearts — in size, electrical system and blood vessels, says Dr. Paula Harvey, a heart specialist and the head of medicine at Women's College Hospital in Toronto. "We are behind the game, so to speak, when it comes to understanding the biology of women's hearts with respect to the impact of different types of sports and different types of stressors," she said. Some of the key questions she wants answers to: the best ways to screen female athletes for structural heart disease and electrical heart problems that could put them at risk — and the best ways to respond to somebody who has a cardiovascular complication or emergency while on the playing field. Harvey is trying to fill in some of those blanks, researching how age and hormonal changes, like menopause, can affect women's cardiac health. Specifically, Harvey is studying female athletes who have stopped having periods and showing symptoms that resemble menopause, because they're not eating enough calories to balance out all their training — and how the energy imbalance impacts heart health. That can be hard on the cardiovascular system, suggests Harvey's research, which she recently presented at the Female Athlete Conference in Boston. She thinks not enough athletes are aware of the problem, which she says can easily be corrected — and the symptoms reversed — by eating more. "Even just a granola bar to increase that number of calories," she said. Dr. Steven Joseph, chief medical officer of Rowing Canada, also thinks there is much more to be learned about sex differences and risk factors for sudden cardiac arrest. "We're just starting to realize there are significant physiological differences," he said. "A lot of the old studies were based on male athletes and they're not transferable." Joseph is hoping there will be more research that could inform athletes and coaches on how to train safely — and manage risk factors. Because — Harvey, Joseph and Dorian all agree — physical activity has so many benefits for overall health, not just cardiac health. They just want everyone to be able to do it safely.


CTV News
5 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Dr. David Altchek, Mets medical director and Tommy John surgery pioneer, dies at 68
NEW YORK — Dr. David Altchek, who performed more than 2,000 Tommy John surgeries and was the New York Mets longtime medical director, died Thursday. He was 68. His death was announced by the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he was co-chief emeritus. Altchek told associates last year he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was the Mets head team physician from 1991-2001 and medical director from 2005-24, physician of the U.S. Davis Cup team from 1999-2003 and North American medical director of the ATP Tour. Altchek was co-chief of HSS's sports medicine and shoulder service from 2005-14. 'While Dr. Altchek's intelligence and innovations certainly benefited his patients — and sports medicine in general — his biggest impact was his warm, friendly, caring personality,' said Glenn S. Fleisig, biomechanics research director of the American Sports Medicine Institute. 'Colleagues, friends, and patients all loved David and are thankful for the time we had with him.' A son of orthopedic surgeon Martin Altchek, David attended Middletown High School in New York, received his undergraduate degree at Columbia and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1982. He interned at The New York Hospital and became a resident at HSS, where he had a fellowship under Dr. Russell Warren, HSS's surgeon in chief from 1993-03 and a longtime team physician of the New York Giants. 'My first Tommy John surgery was in 1993, and I did the procedure that Dr. Jobe, Dr. Frank Jobe prescribed,' Altchek said during a 2024 interview with The Associated Press. 'It took 2 1/2 hours and I was exhausted. And I realized then that we had to do something about Tommy John surgery. We had to make it a little bit easier.' Working with residents and fellows, Altchek developed what was called a docking procedure and tested it on about 100 elbows. 'It worked and it worked amazingly well,' Altchek said. 'We really did not change it at all for 20-something years.' Altchek estimated last year he had performed more than 2,400 Tommy John surgeries. He was a preferred surgeon for the Tommy John procedure in recent years along with Texas Rangers physician Dr. Keith Meister and Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. 'Renowned worldwide for his surgical expertise, he was equally admired for the compassion and care he showed to our players,' Mets owner Steve Cohen and wife Alex said in a statement. Part of Altchek's job was to reassure a player his baseball career was not over. 'You tell them this is unfortunate, but this is your MRI. This is probably why it happened — meaning you threw outside the envelope of your tissue quality," he explained. 'But we have a procedure that can repair your ligament and reconstruct it in a kind of belt, suspenders way that once it heals the likelihood of you going back to pitching at the same level or above is 95%.' Altchek received Columbia's John Jay Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement in 2003. He is survived by his wife, the former Anne Salmson, whom he married in 1981, sons Charles and Christopher, and daughters Chloe and Sophie. Charles is president of Major League Soccer's third-tier MLS Next Pro minor league and was the Ivy League men's soccer player of the year while at Harvard in 2005 and 2006. By Ronald Blum.


The Independent
5 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Dr. David Altchek, Mets medical director and Tommy John surgery pioneer, dies at 68
Dr. David Altchek, who performed more than 2,000 Tommy John surgeries and was the New York Mets longtime medical director, died Thursday. He was 68. His death was announced by the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he was co-chief emeritus. Altchek told associates last year he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was the Mets head team physician from 1991-2001 and medical director from 2005-24, physician of the U.S. Davis Cup team from 1999-2003 and North American medical director of the ATP Tour. Altchek was co-chief of HSS's sports medicine and shoulder service from 2005-14. 'While Dr. Altchek's intelligence and innovations certainly benefited his patients — and sports medicine in general — his biggest impact was his warm, friendly, caring personality,' said Glenn S. Fleisig, biomechanics research director of the American Sports Medicine Institute. 'Colleagues, friends, and patients all loved David and are thankful for the time we had with him.' A son of orthopedic surgeon Martin Altchek, David attended Middletown High School in New York, received his undergraduate degree at Columbia and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1982. He interned at The New York Hospital and became a resident at HSS, where he had a fellowship under Dr. Russell Warren, HSS's surgeon in chief from 1993-03 and a longtime team physician of the New York Giants. 'My first Tommy John surgery was in 1993, and I did the procedure that Dr. Jobe, Dr. Frank Jobe prescribed,' Altchek said during a 2024 interview with The Associated Press. 'It took 2 1/2 hours and I was exhausted. And I realized then that we had to do something about Tommy John surgery. We had to make it a little bit easier.' Working with residents and fellows, Altchek developed what was called a docking procedure and tested it on about 100 elbows. 'It worked and it worked amazingly well,' Altchek said. 'We really did not change it at all for 20-something years." Altchek estimated last year he had performed more than 2,400 Tommy John surgeries. He was a preferred surgeon for the Tommy John procedure in recent years along with Texas Rangers physician Dr. Keith Meister and Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Part of Altchek's job was to reassure a player his baseball career was not over. 'You tell them this is unfortunate, but this is your MRI. This is probably why it happened — meaning you threw outside the envelope of your tissue quality," he explained. "But we have a procedure that can repair your ligament and reconstruct it in a kind of belt, suspenders way that once it heals the likelihood of you going back to pitching at the same level or above is 95%.' Altchek received Columbia's John Jay Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement in 2003. He is survived by his wife, the former Anne Salmson, whom he married in 1981, sons Charles and Christopher, and daughters Chloe and Sophie. Charles is president of Major League Soccer's third-tier MLS Next Pro minor league and was the Ivy League men's soccer player of the year while at Harvard in 2005 and 2006. ___


Al Arabiya
5 days ago
- Health
- Al Arabiya
Dr. David Altchek, Mets medical director and tommy john surgery pioneer, dies at 68
Dr. David Altchek, who performed more than 2000 Tommy John surgeries and was the New York Mets' longtime medical director, died Thursday. He was 68. His death was announced by the Hospital for Special Surgery where he was co-chief emeritus. Altchek told associates last year he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was the Mets head team physician from 1991-2001 and medical director from 2005-24, physician of the US Davis Cup team from 1999-2003, and North American medical director of the ATP Tour. Altchek was co-chief of HSS's sports medicine and shoulder service from 2005-14. 'While Dr. Altchek's intelligence and innovations certainly benefited his patients – and sports medicine in general – his biggest impact was his warm, friendly, caring personality,' said Glenn S. Fleisig, biomechanics research director of the American Sports Medicine Institute. 'Colleagues, friends, and patients all loved David and are thankful for the time we had with him.' A son of orthopedic surgeon Martin Altchek, David attended Middletown High School in New York, received his undergraduate degree at Columbia, and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1982. He interned at The New York Hospital and became a resident at HSS where he had a fellowship under Dr. Russell Warren, HSS's surgeon in chief from 1993-03 and a longtime team physician of the New York Giants. 'My first Tommy John surgery was in 1993 and I did the procedure that Dr. Jobe – Dr. Frank Jobe – prescribed,' Altchek said during a 2024 interview with The Associated Press. 'It took 2 1/2 hours and I was exhausted. And I realized then that we had to do something about Tommy John surgery. We had to make it a little bit easier.' Working with residents and fellows, Altchek developed what was called a docking procedure and tested it on about 100 elbows. 'It worked and it worked amazingly well,' Altchek said. 'We really did not change it at all for 20-something years.' Altchek estimated last year he had performed more than 2400 Tommy John surgeries. He was a preferred surgeon for the Tommy John procedure in recent years along with Texas Rangers physician Dr. Keith Meister and Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Part of Altchek's job was to reassure a player his baseball career was not over. 'You tell them this is unfortunate but this is your MRI. This is probably why it happened – meaning you threw outside the envelope of your tissue quality,' he explained. 'But we have a procedure that can repair your ligament and reconstruct it in a kind of belt suspenders way that once it heals the likelihood of you going back to pitching at the same level or above is 95 percent.' Altchek received Columbia's John Jay Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement in 2003. He is survived by his wife, the former Anne Salmson, whom he married in 1981, sons Charles and Christopher, and daughters Chloe and Sophie. Charles is president of Major League Soccer's third-tier MLS Next Pro minor league and was the Ivy League men's soccer player of the year while at Harvard in 2005 and 2006.

Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Dr. David Altchek, Mets medical director and Tommy John surgeon, dead at age 68
NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. David Altchek, who performed more than 2,000 Tommy John surgeries and was the New York Mets longtime medical director, died Thursday. He was 68. His death was announced by the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he was co-chief emeritus. Altchek told associates last year he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was the Mets head team physician from 1991-2001 and medical director from 2005-24, physician of the U.S. Davis Cup team from 1999-2003 and North American medical director of the ATP Tour. Altchek was co-chief of HSS's sports medicine and shoulder service from 2005-14. 'While Dr. Altchek's intelligence and innovations certainly benefited his patients — and sports medicine in general — his biggest impact was his warm, friendly caring personality,' said Glenn S. Fleisig, biomechanics research director of the American Sports Medicine Institute. 'Colleagues, friends, and patients all loved David and are thankful for the time we had with him.' A son of orthopedic surgeon Martin Altchek, David attended Middletown High School in New York, received his undergraduate degree at Columbia and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1982. He interned at The New York Hospital and became a resident at HSS, where he had a fellowship under Dr. Russell Warren, HSS's surgeon in chief from 1993-03 and a longtime team physician of the New York Giants. 'My first Tommy John surgery was in 1993, and I did the procedure that Dr. Jobe, Dr. Frank Jobe prescribed,' Altchek said during a 2024 interview with The Associated Press. 'It took 2 1/2 hours and I was exhausted. And I realized then that we had to do something about Tommy John surgery. We had to make it a little bit easier.' Working with residents and fellows, Altchek developed what was called a docking procedure and tested it on about 100 elbows. 'It worked and it worked amazingly well,' Altchek said. 'We really did not change it at all for 20-something years." Altchek estimated last year he had performed more than 2,400 Tommy John surgeries. He was a preferred surgeon for the Tommy John procedure in recent years along with Texas Rangers physician Dr. Keith Meister and Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Part of Altchek's job was to reassure a player his baseball career was not over. 'You tell them this is unfortunate, but this is your MRI. This is probably why it happened — meaning you threw outside the envelope of your tissue quality," he explained. "But we have a procedure that can repair your ligament and reconstruct it in a kind of belt, suspenders way that once it heals the likelihood of you going back to pitching at the same level or above is 95%.' Altchek received Columbia's John Jay Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement in 2003. He is survived by his wife, the former Anne Salmson, whom he married in 1981, sons Charles and Christopher, and daughters Chloe and Sophie. Charles is president of Major League Soccer's third-tier MLS Next Pro minor league and was the Ivy League men's soccer player of the year while at Harvard in 2005 and 2006. ___ AP MLB: