(WXYZ) - Marathons are becoming a popular endurance sport.
In 1975 about 25-thousand people participated in marathons. It’s predicted in the next few years, 500-thousand will try to complete a 26.2 mile race. And that could lead to even more deaths.
Dr. Justin Trivax knows all about the ways marathon running can affect the heart. He just completed the Chicago marathon himself and he has spent the last year researching the effects of marathon running on the heart. One thing he’s learned: The body wasn’t made to run 26.2 miles.
As Beaumont’s chief cardiology fellow, Dr. Trivax followed 25 runners from last year’s Free Press marathon.
His theory is that running a marathon can cause irreversible destruction to heart muscle cells. The results of that research project haven’t been released yet.
But Dr. Trivax says endurance racing puts enormous stress on the body.
He likes to call it, “the perfect storm for a cardiac event.”
There’s the tremendous adrenaline surge as a runner waits for the start of the race.
“You have vasospasm in coronary arteries or any of the arteries of the body. You have increased heart rate which leads to less filling of the coronary arteries. And then you start running and you have changes in your metabolism.
Dr. Trivax says there are signs that you may be in trouble during a race, “If you’re feeling any type of palpitation, or you’re feeling light headed or you’re feeling that you may collapse.
But runners can’t always count on signals from their bodies.
Dr. Trivax explains, “Being a marathon runner having just finished a marathon a few days ago, your body is telling you to stop very early on in the race.”
So it’s crucial for every marathoner-in-training to get a thorough cardiac checkup
Including an electrocardiogram or EKG, an ultrasound of the heart. And a 24-hour EKG to see if there are any arrhythmias or abnormal heart beats.
And studies have shown that runners with the most heart problems after a race often have done the least training before the race.
