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Endurance training may hurt your heart: Study

Written by: QMI Agency
Jun. 4, 2012

(QMI Agency file photo)

Training for marathons and triathlons may be bad for your heart, a new study found.

The study says regular exercise is beneficial, but training and taking part in "extreme endurance" such as marathons, iron man triathlons, or long-distance cycling races can cause structural changes to the heart and large arteries.

"Physical exercise, though not a drug, possesses many traits of a powerful pharmacologic agent. A routine of daily physical activity can be highly effective for prevention and treatment of many diseases, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, and obesity," lead author James H. O'Keefe, of Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City, Mo., said in a release about the study.

"However, as with any pharmacologic agent, a safe upper dose limit potentially exists, beyond which the adverse effects of physical exercise, such as musculoskeletal trauma and cardiovascular stress, may outweigh its benefits."

O'Keefe and his colleagues reviewed articles and literature on the topic. The study appears in the June issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

The study notes those who take part in excessive sustained exercise may also be associated with coronary artery calcification, diastolic dysfunction (when the heart's ventricles become too stiff), and large-artery wall stiffening.

In the study, the authors note the case of Micah True, an ultra-marathoner who died suddenly on March 27 during a 19 km run. Known as Caballo Blanco in the book Born to Run, it has been reported True would run as much as 270 km a week.

An autopsy of his heart showed it was enlarged and scarred, which the study's authors said may have been caused by "Phidippides cardiomyopathy," a condition caused by chronic excessive endurance exercise.

 

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