Do marathon runners' hearts get hurt?
Effects of Long-Term Endurance Exercise on Cardiac Morphology, Function, and Injury Indicators among Amateur Marathon Runners
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Some runners train a lot and run marathons — their hearts get bigger and bounce back faster after the race. Others run less and their hearts take longer to recover.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 538 / 72
Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Some runners train a lot and run marathons — their hearts get bigger and bounce back faster after the race. Others run less and their hearts take longer to recover.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 538 / 72
Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Publication
Authors
Hu J, Zhou S, Ryu S, Adams K, Gao Z
Related Content
Claims (6)
High-volume endurance training is not associated with an increased incidence of acute myocardial infarction.
Runners who train harder and faster for years tend to have bigger heart chambers than those who run less, which helps their hearts pump more blood.
After running a marathon, everyone’s heart pumps a bit harder right after finishing, but it goes back to normal by the next day.
Experienced runners have less heart cell damage after a marathon than beginners, even though everyone’s heart gets stressed.
Beginner runners still show signs of heart stress a day after a marathon, but experienced runners’ hearts look normal again by then.