#82 - Heart transplant Ironmen!: Upper limits of performance post heart transplant. Prof Mark Haykowsky, Dwight Kroening and Elmar Sprink

Dr Glenn McConell chats with Professor Mark Haykowsky from the University of Alberta, Canada and remarkable heart transplant recipients Dwight Kroening, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and Elmar Sprink, Cologne, Germany. Dwight was very fit before a heart defect resulted in his heart transplantation (HT) way back in 1986. Elmar was an endurance athlete who suffered a series of cardiac arrests before his HT 12 years ago. They have undertaken Ironman triathlons and more. Both had VO2 maxes in the high 50s! (ml/kg/min). They embody the importance of exercise. Really motivating stuff, incredible. I loved this chat with these three remarkable people. Twitter: @mhaykows 0:00. Introduction 5:40. How Mark got into this area of research 8:40. History of heart transplantation (HT) 10:00. The age of the heart donors/recipients 11:15. The transplanted heart doesn’t perform as well 15:45. Reinnervation of the heart 16:45. Heart rate during exercise after HT 18:55. Dwight before the HT 26:00. Matching donor/ recipient 30:00. Time from donor death until HT 32:20. Matching/rejection/immunosuppression 35:10. Elmar before HT 46:35. Elmar’s resting lactate was 11mmol/l 52:20. Time from diagnosis to transplant 54:00. Vascular and skeletal muscle impacts 56:00. Dwight’s heart donor 58:05. Dwight belief in exercise after HT 1:04:15. Importance of being fit before HT 1:05:25. Dwight’s VO2 max 1:06:30. Very high O2 extractions 1:07:25. Dwight motivated Mark to exercise! 1:10:50. Elmar’s exercise journey after HT 1:13:15. Delay in heart rate increases during exercise 1:15:10. Triathlon 1 yr, Ironman 2 yrs after HT 1:18:00. Cape Epic in South Africa 1:20:00. Elmar better than before heart issues! 1:23:20. They can hold the same HR for hours that most HT recipients can hold for 1 min 1:25:40. Most HT recipients don’t ex train 1:27:30. Muscle issues after transplant 1:30:00. World transplant games 1:32:10. Doctor loved being wrong about exercise 1:33:10. HT recipients and HR delay 1:35:10. These guys push the importance of exercise! 1:38:30. Max HR with age after HT 1:39:50. Reinnervation after HT 1:42:40. Heart stiffer after HT 1:44:02. Ex training and cardiac output/left ventricle adaptations 1:47:10. Most adaptations to training in HT are peripheral 1:49:20. These 2 the fittest HR recipients ever 1:51:18. Exercise the key to longevity 1:52:24. Dwight feels poorly when doesn’t exercise 1:53:20. Go back to old new normal/legacy effect 1:55:10. Their prognosis 1:57:10. Dwight: More to life than the physical 2:02:10. Takeaway messages 2:07:10. They are much more than only HT recipients 2:10:32. Outro Inside Exercise brings to you the who's who of research in exercise metabolism, exercise physiology and exercise’s effects on health. With scientific rigor, these researchers discuss popular exercise topics while providing practical strategies for all.
The interviewer, Emeritus Professor Glenn McConell, has an international research profile following 30 years of Exercise Metabolism research experience while at The University of Melbourne, Ball State University, Monash University, the University of Copenhagen and Victoria University.
He has published over 120 peer reviewed journal articles and recently edited an Exercise Metabolism eBook written by world experts on 17 different topics (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-94305-9).
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Not medical advice