Gao Yixiang died of sudden cardiac death! Experts teach you a trick to calculate how much exercise you do to stay safe

Artist Gao Yixiang suddenly fell to the ground while running while recording the Chinese program "Chase Me" and died of sudden cardiac death. Similar tragedies are heard from time to time. In fact, different forms of exercise, such as cycling, marathon, swimming, skiing, dancing, ball games, and even sexual activities may cause sudden cardiac death, among which the middle-aged group is the most common. A reminder: don’t stop exercising just because you are afraid of choking, as the cost will be even higher. However, you can use a formula to master the exercise intensity that suits you for safety.

If you are worried about the risks of exercise, consult a rehabilitation physician or a certified exercise prescription physician before exercise.

Lin Xingqing, attending physician of the rehabilitation department of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and cooperative physician of the Mixed Martial Arts Association of the Republic of China, said that according to the recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine, people who do not have regular exercise habits (defined as "moderate-intensity exercise" three times a week for 30 minutes each time in the past three months, where you can feel a significant increase in your heart rate and breathing) do not need a doctor's evaluation when doing exercise below a high intensity if they have no history of cardiovascular, metabolic diseases (such as diabetes), or kidney diseases, and do not have any uncomfortable symptoms.

(Picture/taken from Godfrey Gao’s IG/godfreygao)

However, if you do not have a regular exercise habit and have any cardiovascular, metabolic, or kidney disease, whether you have symptoms or not, you should first be evaluated by a physician who understands exercise risk assessment. In Taiwan, you can seek evaluation from a rehabilitation physician with expertise in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation or exercise, or a physician with exercise prescription certification, and then exercise gradually.

Developing exercise habits regularly reduces the risk of sudden death

The risk of sudden death during exercise is generally not high, but the risk of developing chronic diseases due to not exercising is higher. For people who already have the habit of exercising, the chances of sudden death or cardiovascular problems are lower if they suddenly increase their exercise, so it is very important to develop the habit of exercising on a regular basis. On the contrary, if you sit in the office for a long time and rarely exercise, and become a "weekend warrior" and suddenly run a marathon, the risk will increase a lot.

The risk of sudden death during exercise is generally not high, but the risk of developing chronic diseases due to not exercising is higher.

Dr. Lin Xingqing said that people who already have a habit of regular exercise can continue to engage in moderate or high-intensity exercise without a doctor's evaluation. However, if you exercise regularly, have a history of cardiovascular, metabolic, or kidney disease but do not have symptoms, you should seek a physician's evaluation before engaging in high-intensity exercise. If you have symptoms of your disease, such as chest pain, chest tightness, a racing heart, dizziness, or difficulty breathing in daily life or at night, you should consult a physician who understands exercise risk assessment before doing any intensity of exercise. Pregnant women should also discuss with their doctor if they want to engage in more vigorous exercise than usual. Depending on the disease state, the doctor may order different tests, including static or dynamic electrocardiogram, cardiac ultrasound, CT, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing.

How to control the intensity of exercise? The doctor teaches you a trick

In the absence of any objective indicators, we can roughly use the degree of increase in heart rate and breathing, and the degree of effort you feel during exercise as indicators. For example, being able to have a brief conversation while running is generally considered moderate-intensity exercise. However, because people who have no exercise habits often overestimate their perceived physical fatigue index, the most accurate method is to use exercise cardiopulmonary testing that can accurately monitor heart rate, electrocardiogram during exercise, oxygen and carbon dioxide metabolism during breathing, and exercise power.

As many sports monitoring wearable devices such as heart rate monitors become increasingly popular, if there is no way to do an accurate cardiopulmonary exercise test, you can simply use your age to do a "heart reserve rate" calculation: (220-age-resting heart rate) X (40%~59%) + resting heart rate = moderate intensity exercise. If it is higher it is high intensity and if it is lower it is low intensity exercise.