AUTHOR=Mairbäurl Heimo

TITLE=Red blood cells in sports: Effects of exercise and training on oxygen supply
by red blood cells

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=4

YEAR=2013

PAGES=332

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2013.00332

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2013.00332

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=During exercise the cardiovascular system has to warrant substrate supply

to working muscle. The main function of red blood cells in exercise is the
transport of O₂ from the lungs to the tissues and the delivery of
metabolically produced CO₂ to the lungs for expiration. Hemoglobin also
contributes to the blood's buffering capacity, and ATP and NO release from red
blood cells contributes to vasodilation and improved blood flow to working muscle.
These functions require adequate amounts of red blood cells in circulation. Trained
athletes, particularly in endurance sports, have a decreased hematocrit, which is
sometimes called “sports anemia.” This is not anemia in a clinical sense, because
athletes have in fact an increased total mass of red blood cells and hemoglobin in
circulation relative to sedentary individuals. The slight decrease in hematocrit by
training is brought about by an increased plasma volume (PV). The mechanisms that
increase total red blood cell mass by training are not understood fully. Despite
stimulated erythropoiesis, exercise can decrease the red blood cell mass by
intravascular hemolysis mainly of senescent red blood cells, which is caused by
mechanical rupture when red blood cells pass through capillaries in contracting
muscles, and by compression of red cells e.g., in foot soles during running or in
hand palms in weightlifters. Together, these adjustments cause a decrease in the
average age of the population of circulating red blood cells in trained athletes.
These younger red cells are characterized by improved oxygen release and
deformability, both of which also improve tissue oxygen supply during exercise.