KUALA LUMPUR: Elite athletes are susceptible to a syndrome called "athlete's heart," which can cause sudden collapse during training or competition, said former National Sports Institute (NSI) CEO Datuk Dr. Ramlan Abdul Aziz.
Dr. Ramlan, a sports science and medicine expert, was commenting on the sudden death of China's up-and-coming shuttler Zhang Zhijie during Sunday's mixed team group tie against Japan at the Badminton Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
He explained that cardiovascular issues can occur even in healthy athletes.
"The muscles of an athlete's heart can thicken due to long-term rigorous training. This can disturb the electrical conduction, and under certain stressful conditions may result in an increased heart rate with irregular patterns.
"The heart then does not function normally. Blood circulation, especially to the brain, will be affected.
"When that happens, it can cause a loss of consciousness, with the athlete collapsing in an alarming manner, without any sign of an attempt to break the fall," said Dr. Ramlan, the former National Sports Council (NSC) director-general.
On Sunday, Zhang Zhijie collapsed and was rushed to the hospital during his match against Japan's Kazuma Kawano.
"If there was an orthopedic problem, you wouldn't collapse forward like that. You'd try to break the fall, but you see him falling headlong forward. He was convulsing face down on the court before becoming still.
"That suggests that he lost consciousness before hitting the ground, and there was something major going on," added Dr. Ramlan.
Dr. Ramlan noted that "athlete's heart" is not uncommon, and the NSI has been successful in preventing it among national athletes. In several cases, the condition was identified and referred to cardiologists for specialised attention.
"It is mandatory for them to undergo a complete medical examination before they even start training, so that their health status is known and they can compete safely," he added.