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Originally Posted by Vainamoinen
ENLARGED?! I've heard it can get far more effective through running, resulting in a lower pulse, but can the heart really GROW through that?
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The heart is a muscular organ, so training it really leads to growth of muscle cells as a physiological process - as with most trained muscles, the number of cells remains the same but their volume and performance are enhanced - which is one of the reasons the heart gets more effective together with a growing size of the heart chambers.
So yes, the heart can grow.
A healthy heart won't grow over a certain limit, though, because the coronary vessels can't grow at the same rate as the muscle tissue leading to insuffient perfusion of the myocard if this limit is exeeded. Some cardiac diseases or the use of anabolic drugs can lead to such a pathological remodelling of the heart, increasing the risk of heart failure.