Sudden death of Chinese shuttler Zhang Zhijie highlights risks of athlete's heart syndrome

Elite athletes are susceptible to a syndrome called "athlete's heart," which can cause sudden collapse during training or competition, said former National Sports Institute (NSI) CEO Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz.

Dr Ramlan, a sports science and medicine expert said cardiovascular issues can occur even in healthy athletes.

He said the muscles of an athlete's heart can thicken due to long-term rigorous training. This can disturb the electrical conduction, and under certain stressful conditions may result in an increased heart rate with irregular patterns.

It will cause the heart to not function normally. Blood circulation, especially to the brain, will be affected and when that happens, it can cause a loss of consciousness, with the athlete collapsing.

Dr Ramlan was commenting on the sudden death of China's up-and-coming shuttler Zhang Zhijie during Sunday's mixed team group tie against Japan at the Badminton Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

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