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Physiology & Medicine / Re: Why doesn't the heart get tired?
« on: 15/03/2012 15:16:38 »Since the human heart is a muscle, why doesn't it get sore from intense exercise such as conditioning?Sore. Yes, cardiac muscles are highly resistant to fatigue, and do not so easily fatigue as skeletal muscles, yet they do undergo stress that causes them to grow in order to pump higher volumes (usually in response to aerobic exercise) or to pump higher pressures (usually in response to anaerobic exercise).
So, when we exercise so much, either aerobically or anaerobically, that causes the heart to grow, why don't we feel "sore" in our hearts? I would say that everyone would admit that their hearts feel perfectly fine, even when the rest of their bodies are exhausted, except when they're having heart attacks or something similar (angina pectoris).
I think the answer involves the "referred pain" one feels when suffering a heart attack and other disorders (including "ice cream headaches"). Classically, heart attacks are "felt" in the upper left section of the body -- left shoulder, left arm, left side of the jaw -- and also the neck, shoulders and back. My guess would be that a sore heart caused by exercise might feel like it's coming from these areas and not from the center of your torso where the heart is actually located.