Marathons and Heart Problems

Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, General Fitness, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Sports, Youth/fit | (0) Comments

There is a good article over at MSNBC that discusses the pros and cons of running a marathon. Since we see several people die each year at various marathons, the question you have to ask is “how many didn’t die, but did damage to their heart or body just short of death?” Now, I’m not advocating that people stop running or chasing their dream of running in the big race someday, but I am advocating realism and proper training. This is important in all sports. Even in weight training and bodybuilding you can do permanent damage if you do the wrong things the wrong way. So train properly and get help from a good trainer before you set out to be the next Boston Marathon winner or Mr or MS Whoever!

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Researchers have identified a number of physical effects of running a marathon, including changes in immune system and kidney function. But Dr. Siege says the brunt of the damage falls exactly where you’d expect: on your muscles. As the miles pass, skeletal muscles stiffen and leak injury-signaling enzymes into the blood.

Now, a certain inability to (ahem) walk down steps the next day notwithstanding, this may not seem like such a big deal, particularly given that the damage is self-inflicted. But your body’s internal balance is deeply affected. As Dr. Siege puts it, “Your body doesn’t know whether you’ve run a marathon… or been hit by a truck.” This is why, as you go deeper into the race, your body reacts to injury by mounting an emergency-repair response. Your adrenal glands and brain produce the stress hormones cortisol and vasopressin; your damaged muscles churn out proteins called cytokines, which trigger your liver to start producing C-reactive protein.

The result is what Dr. Siege calls “an inflammatory storm” throughout your body, one that sets the stage for some potentially adverse consequences. Early on, marathon researchers weren’t sure if the heart was among the muscles being stressed, but in recent years they’ve confirmed that it most definitely is. In a 2001 study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, Dr. Siege and his colleagues analyzed the blood of marathoners less than 24 hours after a race and found high levels of inflammatory and coagulation markers that are also associated with heart attacks.

Then came the 2006 Circulation study, led by Dr. Wood, which upped the ante. Using ultrasounds and blood tests of 60 marathon finishers, the researchers found that after the race, some runners’ hearts experienced difficulty refilling chambers. The researchers also noticed abnormalities in how blood was pumped from the right side of the heart to the lungs.