Analysis Version
v1
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assertion
Analysis v1
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Against

Even the athletes who train the most don’t have more heart attacks than others.

Scientific Claim

High-volume endurance training is not associated with an increased incidence of acute myocardial infarction.

Original Statement

“There's no data here showing that the athletes doing the most training were having more heart attacks.”

From video:More Exercise, More Plaque?byDr Brad Stanfield

Context Details

Domain

cardiology

Population

human

Subject

High-volume endurance training

Action

is not associated with

Target

increased incidence of acute myocardial infarction

Intervention Details

Type: exercise
Dosage: High-volume endurance training
Duration: Chronic, long-term

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (3)

59
59

High-Volume Physical Activity and Clinical Coronary Artery Disease Outcomes: Findings From the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study.

Cohort Study
Human
2025 May 6

People who exercised a lot — like marathon runners — didn’t have more heart attacks than those who exercised a little, according to this big, long-term study. So, intense endurance training doesn’t seem to raise the risk of heart attacks.

38

Effects of Long-Term Endurance Exercise on Cardiac Morphology, Function, and Injury Indicators among Amateur Marathon Runners

Cohort Study
Human
2023 Jan 31

The study looked at runners who trained hard and ran marathons, and found their hearts got tired and showed temporary signs of stress, but none had heart attacks. So, running long distances doesn't seem to cause heart attacks.

34

The cardiac troponin response following physical exercise in relation to biomarker criteria for acute myocardial infarction; the North Sea Race Endurance Exercise Study (NEEDED) 2013.

Cross-Sectional Study
Human
2018 Apr

After a long bike race, many riders had blood markers that look like a heart attack, but doctors confirmed they didn’t actually have one — so the race didn’t cause heart attacks, even though it made their blood look like it did.

Contradicting (0)

0
No contradicting evidence found

Similar Assertions

High-volume, high-intensity endurance exercise increases coronary artery plaque burden without increasing all-cause or cardiovascular mortality risk in otherwise healthy individuals.

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The presence of increased coronary artery plaque in high-volume endurance athletes is not associated with a higher incidence of clinical cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction or cardiac death.

59
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High-intensity endurance exercise, when accumulated over long durations, is associated with a significantly increased prevalence of coronary artery plaque, an association not detected using self-reported exercise metrics.

60
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Even after accounting for things like cholesterol and blood pressure, the more hours someone spends training over the year, the more likely they are to have plaque in their heart arteries.

52
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The association between cumulative exercise volume and coronary plaque burden is significantly amplified when the volume includes a high proportion of high-intensity training sessions.

52
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