SI.com reports: Dr. Paul D. Thompson, a cardiologist and an elite marathoner in the 1970s, says it can be very difficult to differentiate “athlete’s heart” from a diseased heart. Thompson says Gaines Adams’ underwhelming performance with the Buccaneers and Bears could have been a clue, even though most people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) have no obvious symptoms.
“When people aren’t performing well, you want to think of HCM,” says Thompson, noting that the thickening of the heart wall in HCM can result in symptoms such as fatigue and shortness of breath.
Get the full story: SI.com
Read the original article from Tribune News Services.