Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?

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Offline Andy Battaglia

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Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #30 on: October 13, 2014, 12:15:40 AM »
Ionut,

What is your resting heart rate? What is your hemoglobin level?
Andy

All we are saying is give thals a chance.

Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #31 on: October 13, 2014, 07:03:22 AM »
Hi Andy,

My resting heart rate (over night) is 64. I've measured it with my watch:  http://www.movescount.com/moves/move24558268
My hemoblobin level is some time 11 some time 12.

Best regards,
Ionut

Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #32 on: October 13, 2014, 09:03:01 AM »
Hi Andy,

My resting heart rate (over night) is 64. I've measured it with my watch:  http://www.movescount.com/moves/move24558268
My hemoblobin level is some time 11 some time 12.

Best regards,
Ionut

Hi Ionut,

Are you a man or a woman? I'm a man, age 32, haemoglobin levels similar to your and I do endurance sports as well (running). Your resting heart rate seems a bit high if you are training regularly (mine is around 42/44 early in the morning, sometimes lower). Do you notice a difference if you race/train in the morning or evening? My heart rate tends to shoot up much more quickly in the morning before breakfast. I would say it is typically 5/10bpm slower in the evening, with the same level of effort.
Is 5'10" your pace per mile or per k? Per mile would be really really fast!
I can tell you that in the last 400/500m of a 5k my heart rate shoots up to almost 190, but the effort level if massive. Around 170/175 is still aerobic although the effort is significant. Anything above 175 is not sustainable for longer than a few k (although in a 10k I averaged 177 bpm).
185 seems a bit high. Have you been doing sport for long? What's your weight? Sorry I'm not an expert, I'm just trying to figure out what might be contributing to the heart rate

Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #33 on: October 13, 2014, 11:51:37 AM »
Hi!
I'm a man, 1,75m, 75 kg.
Running pace 5'10"/km - heart rate 185. I was able, last year, to run a half marathon in 1hour and 50 minutes with the same average pace.
It's true that in spring 2014, during an Ironman 70.3, the average pace was 161. But than I had to run with a pace ~ 6'00"/km.

Ionut
« Last Edit: October 13, 2014, 02:40:37 PM by Ionut »

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Offline Andy Battaglia

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Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #34 on: October 13, 2014, 02:52:52 PM »
Ionut,

It sounds like you have an amazing ability to compensate for the slightly lower Hb level. Your resting heart rate is excellent. As long as your doctor feels there is no danger from the high heart beat while active, I don't think there's any cause for concern. Sounds to me that you are extremely fit.
Andy

All we are saying is give thals a chance.

Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #35 on: October 14, 2014, 01:05:11 PM »
Karen,

I just recently found out that I am thal. minor. I have been running marathons since 2004. I originally started doing them as a natural way to keep my anxiety disorder at bay. I have many friends that also run marathons, and I have always felt like I seemed to have more setbacks than them, I seemed to always take longer to recover, I don't seem to get any faster even when I am training along side those friends who are getting faster. I constantly have stomach issues, but recently tested negative for celiac disease. I will be going to see a nutritionist in a couple of weeks to have a conversation about what foods and supplements I should be taking as an endurance athlete with thal. minor. After what I have been learning in the last couple of weeks, I am worried that she is not going to have a clue how to help me.

I think seeing another endurance athlete here is a breath of fresh air. I wish you the best as you aim toward another triathlon. Keep me posted! I am trying to reach a long-time goal of running 12 marathons in 12 months. Two down, ten to go.

Hi Karen,

Could you tell me please, which is your heart rate during these races (marathons)?
I have also thal minor, and as I've mentioned in below, my average heart rate for races 10k is 185 ..with peak 204 for final sprint.

All the best,
Ionut

Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #36 on: October 15, 2014, 08:25:52 AM »
Hi!
I'm a man, 1,75m, 75 kg.
Running pace 5'10"/km - heart rate 185. I was able, last year, to run a half marathon in 1hour and 50 minutes with the same average pace.
It's true that in spring 2014, during an Ironman 70.3, the average pace was 161. But than I had to run with a pace ~ 6'00"/km.

Ionut

Hi Ionut,
Just wanted to clarify that your resting heartbeat is well within the normal range - most athletes find that their heartrate is lower of those of people that do not regularly practice any sport, hence I would have expected yours to be a bit lower, but the variability is so high that this should not be a cause of concern - especialy if your exams did not show anything abnormal.
Sounds like you are doing extremely well

Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #37 on: December 15, 2014, 12:13:46 PM »
I am not a marathon runner but like to keep reasonably fit, go to the gym for an hour and a half a week and keep reasonably active.  I do think my aerobic capacity is limited - I always was last in school races and only found out in later life that I had beta thal trait.  Hb around 11, BMI about 26 so a little overweight.  I am 57 years old.  Going skiing again this winter and find it incredibly tiring - a lot more than I think is normal for my age.  I wondered if anyone on this site had any experience of epo-boost, the nutritional supplement as opposed to injectable erythropoietin. 


Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #38 on: January 12, 2015, 03:48:54 PM »
Just out of curiosity....for whomever might be interested
New blood test today - here is a comparision with my last one 6 months ago.
In the last 6 months I have run approximately 900k and exercised consistently.
(2015 values in red)
No big difference (apart from bilirubin - I wonder why), but none was expected to be honest.

HB estimation: 115 g/L 110 g/L
Haematocrit 0.354 0.34
MCV 57.5 fT 56.9 fT
MCH 18.7 pg 18.2 pg
Red Blood Cell distributed width 16.2% 15.8%
serum total bilirubin level 35 umol/L 23 umol/L

Resting heartbeat 39 bpm (also had an ECG as I was worried about bradycardia, but it looks like it's nothing to worry about)
« Last Edit: January 13, 2015, 09:48:46 AM by Brickfielder »

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Offline Andy Battaglia

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Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #39 on: January 13, 2015, 12:55:48 AM »
Bilirubin is normally high in thals due to the high turnover of red blood cells. This can fluctuate depending on the turnover rate. And much is unknown about what may cause hemolysis in thal patients. We know that eating broad beans, like fava beans, or being exposed to various chemical fumes and drugs can cause hemolysis in alpha thals, and here at thalpal, we have heard from beta minors who have had instances of hemolysis set off by exposure to fumes, and even some common household scents like artificial perfumes and colognes and scented laundry products. If this does happen, you will notice a lack of energy, as it causes a brief anemia. Should this be a possibility, observe what exposures you've had leading up to the sudden drop in Hb. It may be that you had some exposure to fumes at the time. Certain drugs like sulfa antibiotics, can also cause red cell destruction and a sudden drop in Hb. It is worth watching the level to see if you can match the increases to any specific food you've eaten or chemical you've been exposed to. I have heard of everything from being exposed to cigarette smoke to the scent of dryer fabric softener sheets setting off hemolysis.

However, bilirubin can be affected by other things, as well. While looking for an answer for another member, I learned that drinking wine raises the bilirubin level, which explained his rise, as he had wine over the holidays. A note about that is that it is not believed to be harmful when caused by wine, as it is accompanied by a rise in antioxidant levels. Diet can also be a factor, and I suspect in the other case, that overindulging in holiday food may have contributed to the higher bilirubin.

While the higher bilirubin doesn't normally cause a problem, when it is high constantly it can lead to the formation of gallstones or more likely, sludge in the gallbladder. Many minors eventually have their gallbladders removed due to ducts being blocked by sludge.
Andy

All we are saying is give thals a chance.

Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #40 on: January 13, 2015, 09:41:53 AM »
Hi Andy,

Thanks for your message.
I forgot to mention that I have also been very consistent in taking folic acid (4mg/day), vitamin B and Vitamin C over the last 6 months (alas, not so consistent in taking vitamin D!). I was wondering whether they would slighly boost my Hb levels, but they didn't, and to be honest I wasn't really expecting it!
With regard to Bilirubin - it's actually lower now, 23 (not 21 sorry!) compared to 35. Just slighly raised but nothing to worry about. I drink very very little alcohol and my diet is more or less always the same, regardless of the recent holiday period. So I'm not sure why bilirubin is lower now. But I understand that its level may vary quite a lot for a number of reasons.

Bilirubin is normally high in thals due to the high turnover of red blood cells. This can fluctuate depending on the turnover rate. [...]
While the higher bilirubin doesn't normally cause a problem, when it is high constantly it can lead to the formation of gallstones or more likely, sludge in the gallbladder. Many minors eventually have their gallbladders removed due to ducts being blocked by sludge.

Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #41 on: August 18, 2015, 09:33:38 PM »
Just a quick update for those that might be interested. Please see my messages above for details regarding my Hb and other values (I don't have any more recent blood test values).
I have kept exercising consistently (running 100/150km a month) and I have managed to lower my 5k time to 18'58" and 10miles around 67'30'. This places me around the 68th percentile fory age grade (I'm 33 now). To put it in context , other non thalassemic friend of mine with a similar monthly mileage and age are running slightly slower than I am. This is comforting.
That said, I do notice a very strong trend - I'm not as strong as other people in longer races, where aerobic capacity is more of an issue. I can beat them quite easily over 1 mile, bit lag behind in 7miles races. I also suffer quite a lot from gastrointestinal issues after hard runs. And my stomach does not like junk food at all. My eyes also turn more yellow after an effort.
For those of you who want to do competitive sports - if you put some hard work into it, you will see good results (I have been improving constantly over the last 2 1/2 years). Be aware you might struggle  when aerobic capacity is paramount. And you might need to watch your diet, live with an upset stomach at times, and generally watch for any signs of overdoing it. But you will most definitely get better.

Re: Can Thalassamia Minor hinder sports performance?
« Reply #42 on: April 20, 2016, 10:00:16 PM »
l-carnitine, a trimethylamine abundant in red meat, also produces TMAO and accelerates atherosclerosis in mice.   see  http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v19/n5/full/nm.3145.html

 

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