Cardiology-Related General Pathology Question

[KeikoTanaka]

I rarely see pure clinical questions being asked on SDN, so I have a cardiology-related question (I'm not seeking medical advice).

Right now in General Pathology we're learning about Infarct and other hematologic disorders. According to my lectures, in a slow occlusion rate of the cardiac vessels, several anastomoses can build and occur between the 3 great vessels of the heart.

I see a lot of athletes pushing themselves extremely hard, and some even end up dying (A lot of them due to congenital disorders), but a lot of them also just experience incidences of chest pain.

So here is my question: ​

In a relatively healthy individual, let's take, for example: David Blaine. A magician who has undergone crazy physical feats, such as holding their breath under water for an extraordinary amount of time (>20 minutes) could these such individuals, or even young athletes who push their hearts to the limit, develop these anastomoses? Or is the time under which they restrict blood to their heart insufficient in the formation of anastomoses? And, if they do, can they actually provide increased sports capacitance in the long run by having increased blood flow to the cardiac tissue? Conversely, is the damage sustained which induced the formation of anastomoses more likely to be a problem later in life?

I'm obviously not saying people should go ahead and restrict blood to their heart for performance gains as this is extremely dangerous, but just a random thought I had. Thanks!

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[DrMetal]

) could these such individuals, or even young athletes who push their hearts to the limit, develop these anastomoses? Or is the time under which they restrict blood to their heart insufficient in the formation of anastomoses?

Maybe. Everyone's anatomy is a little different. They could just have different branches, from birth, not necessarily from working out. People who work out a lot (swimmers for instance) tend to develop thicker myocardiums (LVH etc....in the extreme sense this can be a bad thing, especially in the case of HOCM).

I'm obviously not saying people should go ahead and restrict blood to their heart for performance gains as this is extremely dangerous, but just a random thought I had. Thanks!

Restricting blood to the heart is never a good thing. I'm no doctor, but I'm just saying . . .