Just a head's up for anyone interested....

Rae
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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Deer hunting could be a dangerous endeavor
for men with heart disease or risk factors for it, research findings
suggest.

In a study of 25 middle-aged male deer hunters, researchers found that
the activities inherent to hunting -- like walking over rough terrain,
shooting an animal and dragging its carcass -- sent the men's heart
rates up significantly.

In some cases, this led to potentially dangerous heart-rhythm
disturbances, or diminished oxygen supply to the heart.

Of the 25 hunters, 17 had established coronary heart disease, while the
rest had risk factors such as being overweight, smoking or having high
blood pressure or cholesterol.

The findings suggest that for men like these, hunting could boost the
risk of heart attack or cardiac arrest.

Susan Haapaniemi and colleagues at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal
Oaks, Michigan, report the findings in the American Journal of Cardiology.

For the study, the researchers outfitted each man with a portable
monitor that continuously recorded his heart's electrical activity
during a day of deer hunting. For comparison, the men also had their
hearts monitored as they exercised on a treadmill on a separate day.

In general, the researchers found, deer hunting put the men's hearts
under more strain than the treadmill did. Ten men exceeded the maximum
heart rate they logged on the treadmill, and several showed potentially
dangerous heart responses to hunting that they did not show during the
treadmill test.

Three men had signs of impeded blood flow to the heart during hunting,
but not on the treadmill. Similarly, three of the men with heart disease
had heart-rhythm abnormalities while hunting that did not show up on the
treadmill test.

The combination of physical exertion, adrenaline rush and the stress of
rough terrain and cold weather may explain the "excessive cardiac
demands" seen with hunting, according to Haapaniemi's team.

What's more, they point out, most of the men in the study were taking
part in an exercise program to treat their heart disease, or were
regularly physically active. Hunting could be an even greater strain on
the heart in men who are usually sedentary, the researchers note.

SOURCE: American Journal of Cardiology, July 15, 2007.