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Why some US football players have higher cardiovascular risk


Last updated October 21, 2019

By Tina Underwood

Craig Clark, Furman University assistant athletics director and associate director of sports medicine is among a cohort of researches who studied the effects of rapid weight gain among college football linemen. The study was published in JAMA Cardiology and was based on the analysis of 126 athletes over three years.

Researchers found that collegiate football players who gain weight and develop increased systolic blood pressure are at risk for the development of a pathologic cardiovascular phenotype characterized by concentric left ventricular enlargement, arterial stiffening and reduced left ventricular diastolic function.

Other institutions involved in the research include Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology and Massachusetts General Hospital. The study was also picked up by SCIENMAG (Science Magazine).

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