Find out why professional bodybuilders use cardioprotectors and how they affect cardiovascular health. Now sports pharmacology has stepped far ahead in comparison with the previous level. Without the use of various drugs, it is difficult for the body to withstand constant high physical and psychological stress. This article will focus on the use of cardioprotective agents in bodybuilding.
What are cardioprotectors?
All medications that have a metabolic and cytoprotective effect on the myocardium belong to the group of cardioprotectors. They first began to appear in the nineties.
As you know, for normal functioning the myocardium needs oxygen to provide the process of oxidative phosphorylation. Thus, ischemia can be caused by an imbalance between required and actual oxygen consumption.
The cellular structures of all organs have the ability to adapt to the current conditions due to changes in the metabolism of energy and substances. Today there is a fairly large group of drugs that can improve heart function.
First of all, their effect is aimed at improving the quality of energy exchange, correcting plastic metabolism and protecting cellular structures from various kinds of oxidative reactions. The mechanisms of action of these drugs are quite diverse.
How to use cardioprotectors in bodybuilding?
Athletes pay more attention to drugs that have the ability to regulate myocardial metabolism, and especially in conditions of hypoxia. Other drugs of the cardioprotective group are most often used during the recovery period or when heart problems occur.
Antihypoxic cardioprotectors are by far the most studied, which opens up wide opportunities for their use. However, it is important to understand that the appointment of any medication must be consistent with the goals and methods of training athletes. For example, antihypoxants and plastic metabolic regulators are best used during the competition period.
If we talk about antihypoxants in more detail, the most effective in this class are substrate drugs, such as aspartic, succinic and glutamic acids and their salts. Despite the fact that they have limited capabilities in protecting the myocardium from hypoxia, scientists have found that they have a high ability to activate oxidative phospholation. The main antihypoxants are those drugs that are able to most effectively activate the anaerobic production of macroergs in conditions of a lack of oxygen. They can be classified into two groups, one of which is the most readily available.
We are talking about substrates of glycolysis. By the way, it should be noted that rather high hopes were associated with the high antihypoxic properties of these drugs. However, in the course of research, they did not come true. Several years ago, active attempts were made to use the exogenous substance ATP, which did not bring the expected result. This is due to the rapid destruction of the working component. After this failure, ATP-long was created, the stability of which, in comparison with the first generation of drugs, was increased by two and a half times.
The peculiarity of ATP-long also lies in the direct effect on the purine receptors of the heart muscle. This prevents them from overloading and improves energy generation processes. ATP-long can significantly increase the endurance of athletes. The drug has been studied well enough, and today it can be argued that with its help the body's ability to endure heavy loads and increase speed-strength indicators significantly increases. ATP-Long should be taken in an amount of 0.01 to 0.02 grams approximately two or three hours before the start of the session.
Creatine phosphate, which is now widely used by athletes in the form of dietary supplements, also proved to be effective enough to prevent hypoxia. This substance accelerates the transport of energy in the cellular structures of some organs.
When a deficiency of creatine phosphate occurs in the cells of the heart muscle, it can lead to destabilization and subsequent destruction of cell membranes. In the course of numerous studies, scientists were able to establish that when using supplements containing creatine phosphate, the energy, the structural integrity of myocardial cells is significantly improved.
Learn more about cardioprotectors in this video:
