By Todd Chapman, MD, FACS Pound-for-pound, a boxer's heart is
the most powerful engine in the world. Consider: beating over
100,000 times a day, it pumps almost 2,000 gallons of blood
every 24 hours. These are averages at rest. Studies in young
boxers (1) have shown that during a non-contact training
session, pulse rises to 178 beats per minute, effectively
doubling, and sometimes tripling the work output of the heart.
It is imperative to identify hidden cardiac abnormalities in
boxers before they subject their hearts to this sort of demand,
because of the risk of sudden cardiac death. In reviewing 1,500
forensic autopsies after sudden cardiac death in Lyon, France,
Tabib identified 80 such deaths following sports activity (two).
These included rugby, jogging, gymnastics, tennis, swimming,
cycling, soccer, and boxing. In those under 30 years old, the
cardiac pathology was most often a cardiomyopathy (55.5%,)
followed by non-atherosclerotic coronary abnormalities (14.8%,)
aortic stenosis (7.4%,) atrial septal