Athletic Heart Syndrome. Buy backpacks, exercise machines, athletic shoes, and more at Fogdog Sports. Prognosis Definition Athletic heart syndrome is the adaptation of an athlete's heart in response the physiologic stresses of strenuous physical training. It can be difficult to distinguish a significant medical condition from an athletic heart. Description The heart adapts to physical demands by enlarging, especially the left ventricle.
Enlargement increases the cardiac output, the amount of blood pumped with each beat of the heart.
The exact type of adaptation depends on the nature of the physical demand. There are two types of demand, static and dynamic. Static demand involves smaller groups of muscles under extreme resistance for brief period. An example is weight lifting. Dynamic training involves larger groups of muscles at lower resistance for extended periods of time.