Importance of medical authorization prior to physical practices

Carry out exercise or some type of activity is a practice widely recommended by doctors and by various medical societies.

The physical activity regular contributes to general health, although its greatest impact is in the cardiometabolic area. Leaving a sedentary lifestyle behind contributes to lowering body weight, blood pressure, heart rate, as well as sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood.

All these benefits translate into a lower risk of developing a heart attack or an accident. cerebrovascular events that have been and seem to continue to be the leading cause of death worldwide world.

The objective of this medical evaluation is to guarantee carrying out any type of physical activity safely and therefore without health risks.

The aim is to identify the presence of disorders that may trigger an unwanted event during training.

The most feared event is the appearance of sudden death, a phenomenon that can occur in young athletes due to conditions such as heart defects related to variations in the heart muscle, as is the case with so-called cardiomyopathy hypertrophic

Sudden death can also be due to a cardiac arrhythmia or heart attack that occurs during intense physical activity, this is more common in older adults or people with blockage of the arteries that supply the heart muscle, called coronary arteries.

Another important aspect is identify some physical conditions that are aggravated by exercise, as is the case with bronchial asthma, or that predispose to developing musculoskeletal injuries such as muscle tears, tendinitis, fractures (the latter are frequent in people with osteogenesis imperfecta and osteoporosis in whom impact is contraindicated as well as sports of contact).

What does the medical evaluation prior to physical activity include?

Although there are many protocols, the most accepted is that the evaluation of an individual who is going to start training includes the following:

– History complete medical with collection of personal and family history.

– Physical exam with emphasis on cardiac and pulmonary auscultation, determination of pulses and review of the musculoskeletal system.

– Performing a resting electrocardiogram. If this test shows signs of a heart disorder, more detailed studies should be performed such as echocardiogram, arrhythmia holter, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), stress test, and laboratory.

Some international organizations such as FIFA have medical evaluation protocols their own, these are aimed especially at the detection of causes of sudden death in athletes under the age of 35 years.

Cases in which it is advisable to perform a stress test

The importance of performing a stress test is that it allows to evaluate the resistance to physical activity and the way in which the heart behaves during it.. It is carried out by monitoring an electrocardiogram and blood pressure while the person performs a physical activity with a progressive intensity on a treadmill.

The American Heart Association recommends performing this test as a study complementary to assess physical condition prior to physical activity in the case of men older than 40 years and women older than 50 years who have one or more of the following risk factors: risk:

– Smokers
- Diabetes
- Arterial hypertension
– Elevated levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood
– People with close relatives who have had a heart attack before the age of 65 or who have died due to sudden death.

In the case of people over 65 who want to start practicing sports, the test should be carried out even if the person does not have these risk factors.

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