Women who train hard for endurance sports like marathons don’t show more calcium buildup in their heart arteries than women who don’t exercise much — and some evidence suggests they may have less.

Women who train hard for endurance sports — even very hard — tend to have less calcium buildup in their heart arteries than women who don’t exercise much.

Men who train extremely hard for endurance sports like marathons or triathlons for many years tend to have more calcium buildup in their heart arteries than men who exercise moderately, even though they’re otherwise healthy.

Even though endurance athletes have less dangerous soft plaque, their amount of hard, calcified plaque in the heart arteries is about the same as in people who don’t exercise.

For older male athletes who exercise a lot, doing very hard workouts (like sprinting or intense cycling) seems to be linked to more calcium buildup in the heart arteries over time, while moderate hard workouts might not have the same effect.

For older male athletes, doing hard but not extreme workouts (like steady running or cycling) seems to be linked to less calcium buildup in heart arteries over time, compared to doing ultra-intense workouts.