Training With A Heart Condition
Long ago in a forum post far away, Dr. Sullivan posted his guidelines for rejecting a gym member which included:
> 2. Abdominal aortic aneurysm, any form of aortic or vascular dissection, or any form of aortic graft
This list was also described as "absolute contraindications to barbell training." Strong language.
My father, whom I love dearly and have been training now for over a year, just informed me he has a thoracic aortic aneurysm. This revelation was prompted by a visit to the cardiologist (whom he has been seeing since his mild heart attack 20 years ago) who told him he ought not be lifting over 100 lbs. My dad's current squat PR is 150 lbs (4x3) and he has rack pulled 220 lbs (1x5). His press and bench press are still under 100 lbs. His cardiologist's concern was raised because he noticed a 0.1 cm increase in diameter of the aneurysm. My dad does take beta blockers in low dose.
I asked my dad to ask his cardiologist how he arrived at that 100 lbs value. He received a non-answer, but he also didn't ask the question directly. Normally I would tell him to soldier on because he very much likes the changes to his body from training and he still needs more muscle mass. Dr. Sullivan's advice, however, gives me pause. He trained today (squat 135x5x4, rack pull 200x5) and plans to train at reduced weight on Friday. We train at my home and neither he nor my mother are likely to sue me should anything go wrong.
Is his aortic aneurysm an absolute contraindication to training, or should he carry on? To put it more bluntly, how likely is it that squats or rack pulls will kill my dad?