Abstract:

Purpose: Arrhythmias are reproached for most of the sudden cardiac deaths in professional athletes. Also, performance-enhancing dietary supplements have been blamed in recent years. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of protein supplements (PS) on regular training athletes. Materials and Methods: 70 male sportsmen (30.0 ± 7.3 year) who regularly train in the gym, were included in the study; 35 used approximately 40 grams of PS daily, while the other half regularly trained without additional PS. All participants underwent ECG, exercise test and results were evaluated by two independent cardiologists. Results: There were no differences between two groups in terms of age, smoking and alcohol use, body mass index, baseline ECG results, effort capacity, heart rate, and blood pressure values. Correlation analyses showed a negative correlation between the age and maximum HR in an effort test. Conclusion: This study showed that using PS in certain does not have any effect on ECG findings, heart rate at both rest and during exercise, effort capacity evaluated by a treadmill test, and blood pressure values of sportsmen.

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