Recently, a study published by Dr. Malissa J. Wood in the European Heart Journal, showed that amateur marathon runners who run less than 40 miles per week during training often show signs of cardiac dysfunction after the race and some of these abnormalities may persist for up to a month after they cross the finish line. She said that running less than 40 miles per week prior to running a marathon leads to temporary heart muscle weakness and increased pressure in the lung arteries. The findings are based on a study of 20 amateur athletes who ran the 2003 Boston Marathon and underwent echocardiography (ultrasound imaging of the heart) before, immediately after, and about one month after running the 26-mile race. There was evidence of abnormalities in both systolic function (the heart’s pumping ability) and diastolic function (the heart’s ability to relax during beats). All of the systolic abnormalities normalized fairly quickly, but the diastolic abnormalities persisted for up to one month after the race, indicating an inherent alteration in the heart’s ability to relax, Wood and colleagues note. One thing is sure, this study also does not address whether this transient dysfunction damages the heart or if there are any long-term cardiac consequences.
Source:CNN
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