COLOGNE, Germany Older tennis players should go for regular heart and circulation checkups to help guard against possible heart attacks, according to the Cologne-based medical publication "Medizin Heute".

The magazine bases its advice on tips from Professor Klaus Steinbrueck from Stuttgart's Sports Clinic, who claims that tournament conditions above all have a detrimental effect on the entire cardio-circulatory system, something that increases the risk of a heart attack. Tennis matches in muggy weather pose an especial threat to older players.

"Medizin Heute" suggests that tennis players over 40 should go to their doctor for a checkup once a year: If your doctor can find nothing amiss, then there is no reason to give up playing the game.

(DPA)