This article is motivated by some incidental conversations I've had with fellow athletes in recent times regarding dissatisfaction with their own medication regimes. The use of beta-blockers, in particular, for managing hypertension (high blood pressure) or arrhythmia (irregular heart beat) in athletes has cropped up a few times.  Here, I give an overview of beta blockers and set out some of the salient issues for athletes who are on beta-blockers. If this topic bears some releva...

We're experiencing a heat wave in Melbourne! How does training in hot weather affect your heart? On a hot day, blood flow is rerouted so more of it goes to your skin surface to help your body let off your internal heat (and you break a sweat). The redirection of blood flow to the skin makes less oxygen available to your muscles and hence your heart beats faster and pumps harder to compensate for the loss of oxygen going to your muscles. This results in a higher heart rate for your usual...