Two very contradicting studies have left people in a dilemma about whether or not marathon running is good for the heart.
With the run up to the Boston Marathon in full swing , participants are taking to the Internet to look for information that can help them prepare of the race. It is but obvious that many studies about marathon running are bound to be conducted at this time. However, two very contradicting articles have left participants in a dilemma about whether or not marathon running is good for the heart.
One study by Massachusetts General Hospital found that people who run marathons have healthier hearts. The study was conducted on 45 non-professional male runners between the ages of 35 and 65 who were planning to run the 2013 Boston Marathon. Fifty percent of them had run three or more marathons maximum while the rest had run two or less. All the participants underwent an 18-week training program, comprising of group runs, endurance training with access to cross-training facilities in the Boston area. They were given professional coaching with nutrition tips and pacing.
Prior to the study, all the runners underwent a full medical evaluation that included cardiopulmonary exercise stress testing, heart imaging studies and cholesterol screening, according to Counsel And Heal.
The findings revealed that the training program led to a significant drop in risk factors associated with cardiovascular risk. The study found that low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, known as "bad" cholesterol, was reduced by 5 percent; total cholesterol fell 4 percent, and triglycerides dropped 15 percent.
The findings also revealed a 1 percent drop in body mass index and a 4 percent increase in peak oxygen consumption, a measurement of cardiorespiratory fitness, which is a potent prognostic marker of cardiovascular mortality.
"Overall, participants experienced cardiac remodeling - improvements in the size, shape, structure and function of the heart," lead researcher Dr. Jodi L. Zilinski said in a news release, according to Business Standard. "Even with a relatively healthy population that was not exercise naïve, our study participants still had overall improvements in key indices of heart health."
A contradicting study published in the current edition of Missouri Medicine found that 50 men who had run at least one marathon a year for 25 years had higher levels of coronary-artery plaque than a control group of sedentary men.
"Studies support a potential increased risk of coronary artery disease, myocardial fibrosis and sudden cardiac death in marathoners," Peter McCullough, a Baylor University cardiologist said, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Researchers pointed out that in marathon runners the chronic stress of endurance training for long periods of time may stiffen the heart arteries and predispose them to hardening and becoming partially blocked. Running marathons for decades may be an excessive amount of exercise, possibly predisposing one to an increase coronary artery plaque build-up despite favorably altering many risk factors such as weight, blood pressure and risk of diabetes. A more moderate dose of exercise might be a better strategy for promoting long-term cardiovascular health and durability, researchers said.
The 2014 Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 21, 2014. Click here for more schedule details and here for race registration.
