Earlier this year, cardiac health was topical as a result of high-profile incidences of cardiac arrest around Australia, starting with the tragic death of famous Australian cricketer, Shane Warne at age 52. What followed was the sudden salience of reports on prominent Australians passing away or suffering from heart attacks over a number of weeks, including Victorian Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching, One-Day-International cricketer Ryan Campbell, former Essendon AFL player Don Wallis, and more recently, Burnie Dockers football player Tobi Mcinnes, who went into sudden cardiac arrest while on the field. Most were aged in their fifties.

When given a hypothetical scenario of experiencing chest pain while playing football, 46.6 per cent of participants said they would leave the field immediately, however a concerning 49 per cent would continue playing for 5 to 10 minutes to see if the pain eased, and several would continue playing further.

According to one of the authors of the paper, Professor Geoffrey Tofler – senior author of the paper RACP Fellow, and Cardiologist at University of Sydney and Royal North Shore Hospital – research is important because awareness of heart attack symptoms can be the difference between life and death.

“These are worrying statistics, especially when the risk increases with age. This risk is even greater in those who exercise infrequently or not at all.

“Although regular exercise improves health, strenuous exercise causes a transient increase in cardiac risk. Being able to recognise the warning signs of an impending cardiac event is critical to mitigating those risks during exercise.

“The risks are elevated when accounting for participants with pre-existing risk factors like hypercholesterolaemia, hypertension, smoker status, weight issues, and family history of heart disease,” said Professor Tofler.

The research made headlines across The Daily Telegraph, The Australian, The National Tribune, Retail Pharmacy Magazine, and News Medical. Professor Tofler also gave a live interview with ABC News Radio delving further into how people can be more in tune with their heart health.

Professor Tofler emphasises that cardiac education and training can be vital in preventing or mitigating cardiac events – not just on the football field, but in everyday life.

With 67.3 per cent of study participants trained in administering CPR, most agreed that CPR training and the use of external defibrillators were important and should become staples at football fields during all games, or in any location where there are large crowds of people. Evidence shows that the immediate implementation of one or both of these methods in the event of cardiac arrest can mark the line between life and death, with the patient’s survival rate decreasing by 7 to 10 per cent for every minute without the use of either method.

“Education strategies should focus on giving players clear instructions to assist rapid symptom recognition and management of cardiac events. These instructions should be made available to players electronically and onsite through posters for easy access. This will be vital to taking prompt action and increasing the rate of survival.”

So, should this stop over-35s from engaging in exercise? In most cases, probably not. Although it’s important to factor in existing medical conditions, or family history of certain health issues.

“While it is important to note that the benefits of exercise still far outweigh cardiac risk overall, these measures may further increase the benefit to risk,” Professor Tofler said.

You can read the full research paper here.