Even though super-fit people have more clogged arteries, they don’t have more heart attacks — the clogs are silent and don’t cause trouble.
Scientific Claim
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.
Original Statement
“The study found more plaque, but it did not find more heart attacks. The plaque in the athletes arteries, they were found because they were looking for it using a CT scanner. It wasn't causing obvious symptoms or problems.”
Context Details
Domain
cardiology
Population
human
Subject
Increased coronary artery plaque in high-volume endurance athletes
Action
is not associated with
Target
increased incidence of clinical cardiovascular events
Intervention Details
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (2)
Even though elite athletes have more plaque in their heart arteries, they don’t have more heart attacks or cardiac deaths than less active people — so the plaque doesn’t seem to be as dangerous for them.
Technical explanation
This study found that while male endurance athletes had significantly more plaque and calcification, there was no evidence of increased clinical events. Only a small subset showed myocardial fibrosis, suggesting subclinical damage without overt disease, supporting the dissociation between plaque quantity and clinical outcomes.