Running with a Healthy Heart

​Is endurance training damaging your heart?  This question is the topic of both heated debate and ongoing research.  It is vital for your health to understand the key points and to train intelligently.  

On one side, cardiologists have conducted studies that show endurance athletes have increased levels of coronary plaque, myocardial fibrosis and atrial fibrillation  (see video at right).

 

On the other side, fitness experts note that distance athletes have lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels and robust cardiac health.  So while the experts debate, how should an endurance athlete continue to train without having to worry about long-term heart damage?

The answer is Recovery!  Research shows that many endurance athletes are in a  constant inflammatory state.   Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress damage the heart over time.  Proper nutrition and sufficient rest help to reduce inflammation, but these are not enough. 

 

Whole Body Cryotherapy reduces inflammation by inducing the body to increase the release of anti-inflammatory proteins into the bloodstream.  Studies have proven that cryotherapy accelerates muscle recovery by about 50%.   And your heart is by far your most important muscle.  Conclusion: if you are an endurance athlete, then Whole Body Cryotherapy should be part of your regimen.

Cardiologist James O'Keefe at TEDx

Listed below are links to several articles that provide the latest information on this topic.

Latest Articles:

• 07/15/14     The New Yorker           "Extreme Exercise and the Heart"

• 05/18/14     Dr. John Mandrola       "Exercise, over-indulgence and atrial fibrillation — seeing the obvious"

• 04/10/14     Women's Health          "Is It Possible to Run Too Much?"

• 04/01/14     WebMD                         "Too Much Running Tied to Shorter Life Span"

• 03/26/14     Wall Street Journal       "Why Runners Can't Eat Whatever They Want"

• 03/23/14     Runners World             "Heart Risk? Marathoners Have Increased Artery Plaque"

• 03/15/14     Missouri Medicine       "Marathon training/racing is paradoxically associated with increased coronary plaque volume"

• 03/01/14     Missouri Medicine       "Coronary Artery Plaque and Cardiotoxicity As a Result of Extreme Endurance Exercise"

• 12/29/13     Down Backstretch       "Staying Alive - Healthy vs. Fit "

• 12/05/13     New York Times           "Endurance Exercise and Life Span"

• 10/17/13     Active.com                    "New study cites link between marathon running and some heart-attack factors"

• 08/23/13     Peak Fitness                 "Extreme Endurance Exercise: If You Do This Type of Exercise, You Could Be Damaging Your Heart"

• 05/28/13     Mesa Aquatics             "The Exercise Equivalent of a Cheeseburger?"

• 05/26/13     Triathlete                      "Are You Fit to Race Triathlons?"

• 02/01/13     Active.com                    "Why Too Much Running Is Bad for Your Health"

• 11/28/12     Runners World             "The Too Much Running Myth Rises Again"

• 11/27/12     Wall Street Journal       "One Running Shoe in the Grave"

• 07/01/12     PubMed.gov                 "Cardiovascular damage resulting from chronic excessive endurance exercise"

• 06/10/12     Mayo Clinic                   "Potential adverse cardiovascular effects from excessive endurance exercise"

• 06/05/12     Runners World             "Second Thoughts on Too Much Running"

• 06/01/12     Peak Fitness                  "Too Much Cardio Can Cause a 7-Fold Surge of Heart Problems"

• 10/05/11     Heart Journal                 "Exercise-induced right ventricular dysfunction and structural remodelling in endurance athletes"

• 06/01/11     PubMed.gov                  "Diverse patterns of myocardial fibrosis in lifelong, veteran endurance athletes"

• 06/10/11     Peak Fitness                  "The Marathon Myth: Is It the Quickest Way to a Heart Attack?"

• 03/09/11     New York Times           "When Exercise Is Too Much of a Good Thing"

• 01/18/11     Runners World             "Exercise is the Fountain of Youth"

• 03/20/10     ABC News                      "The Agony of Long-Distance Runners: Coronary Plaque"

• 06/13/08     Heart Journal                "The risk of marathon runners–live it up, run fast, die young?"

• 03/14/07     Univ. Maryland             "Researchers Find Heart Disease in a Marathon Runner: Is Too Much Exercise a Bad Thing?"

  

Reference List

Disclaimer:  Whole Body Cryotherapy is an effective treatment for athletic recovery, pain management, inflammation reduction and skin improvement.   Numerous peer-reviewed studies have confirmed the benefits of whole body cryotherapy.   It is not a medical procedure, and all clients of Polar Cryotherapy should first check with their medical professionals to confirm whether whole body cryotherapy is appropriate for their health.