Even though elite athletes have more plaque in their hearts, the type of plaque they have is harder and less likely to rupture — which might be why they live longer than you’d expect.

Men who have trained for decades as elite endurance athletes, like cyclists or marathoners, tend to have more fatty deposits in their heart arteries than healthy men who exercise moderately—even when both groups are fit and have normal cholesterol and blood pressure.

Men who have exercised very intensely and for many years are more likely to have calcium deposits and plaque in their heart arteries than those who exercised less, even though they tend to live longer.

Men who have trained for decades in marathons and endurance sports are more likely to have calcium deposits in their heart arteries than men who don't exercise much—even if they're otherwise healthy and have no heart disease risk factors.

Even though super-active athletes have more plaque in their heart arteries, the plaque they have is harder and less dangerous-looking than the softer, riskier kind seen in less active people.

Even though athletes are super fit, their heart plaques aren’t more stable or ‘safer’ than those of healthy non-athletes—so being an elite athlete doesn’t make plaque less dangerous.