Sudden Cardiac death

gashinshotan

So this has been happening a lot lately at half marathons and its worrying. The last famous one was of a 21 yo dude in PA who died after finishing a half Marathon and another 40 yo dude who died before the finish at the same race.... does this bother you and is there anything that can be done to prevent it?

Pebble321

A 30 yo man died after a half marathon in my city earlier this year too, which was pretty awful.

I was very sad to hear that this happenned, but I don't feel that I'm at high risk - I'm the kind of person who is more likely to slow down or walk rather than PUSH through the pain to finish in a certain time.

However, my husband is freaking out about me training for a half marathon, so to put his mind at rest I'm going to the doctor to get a general health check and to see if there is anything I need to be aware of.

ninerbuff

Don't run marathons?

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

gashinshotan

Yeah I thought I was fine before I heard that the Guy was 21! Im 25 and overweight with history of smoking and stimulant use... I had a physical last year but the doctor didn't seem that thorough.... literally listened to my heart for 10 seconds then moved on... maybe Ill schedule another exam...

Codefox

Its very sad but unfortunately these things can and do happen. When I was growing up my next door neighbor was an avid marathoner and while training for a race he passed away one night after a hard training run. Turns out he had eaten some sushi with a dangerous bacteria in it and his hard run had weakened his immune system. I don't intend to stop eating sushi because of that though.

Some of the causes of these things don't even come up in physicals. Ultimately, the risk is incredibly low.

Pebble321

Its very sad but unfortunately these things can and do happen. When I was growing up my next door neighbor was an avid marathoner and while training for a race he passed away one night after a hard training run. Turns out he had eaten some sushi with a dangerous bacteria in it and his hard run had weakened his immune system. I don't intend to stop eating sushi because of that though.

Some of the causes of these things don't even come up in physicals. Ultimately, the risk is incredibly low.

I agree, I think most of us are at low risk.
And I think the health risks of sitting on the couch and getting overweight and diabetic far outweight the risk of dying while running.
But, I'll ask my doctor anyway, I'm not 21 anymore!

ninyagwa

I'm not a marathoner, but I can see where you might be a little scared. If you do schedule that doctors appointment, write down each of your concerns about your prior drug use,health history, and anything else, that way when you go in you'll have a specific list of concerns that the doctor can address and put your mind at ease. I'm sure I'm not the only one who forgets to ask my doctor important things when I'm in there if I don't have it written down.

donnam40

Hi,

I have run 3 marathons and countless half marathons. In all honesty the media do not give you the full story - were these people predisposed to cardiac arrest, were there any underlying or contributing factors that have not been reported? People of all ages and fitness levels have cardiac arrests every day, even just going about there daily business. See your doctor to make sure there are no underlying risks, understand the risks of any stimulants/recreational drugs you may use and do your training and you have done everything to mitigate the risk. You are very unlikely to have a cardiac arrest if everything is OK, but if you do you may have had one anyway. You will never know.

Good luck and make sure you enjoy your run.

Donna

davesgal1

Dr. Al Sears explains why this happens and is one of the reasons he developed PACE interval training. The heart and lungs want to be efficient and can decrease in capacity for long distance runners. Dr. Sears developed his training program for heart and lung patients in order to increase heart and lung capacity.. My daughter is a marathon runner and she does progressive interval training as part of her program.

ninerbuff

Here's the issue. Many people who exercise think that just because they do, that they don't have and physical issues internally since externally they are fine. So many don't go and see a doctor annually. Especially men. Why spend time in a doctors office when they feel they are in much better shape than most of the male population? Moral of the story is don't let your ego stop you from an annual checkup.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

NoAdditives

It's definitely worrisome, but it's extremely rare. The ultimate cause could be something completely unrelated to long distance running.

But, I do agree with the above poster that the best way to not die from running a marathon is to simply not run the marathon! :laugh:

12skipafew99100

My husbands 40 something year old co-worker dropped dead of a heart attack in the parking lot of his gym after a work out.
Makes ya wonder.

NoAdditives

My husbands 40 something year old co-worker dropped dead of a heart attack in the parking lot of his gym after a work out.
Makes ya wonder.

I worked with a doctor who suddenly died of a myocardial infarction without any kind of warning. One day he was fine, totally healthy with no problems, the next day he was dead. It was shocking, but that kind of thing just happens sometimes.

Arabian♥Breeze

Your comments are freaking me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The other day I did a vigorous work out for the first time and i had a few heart palpitations and thought i was going to have a heart attack. im only 26 so it was scary. Im keeping it moderate for now on. my heart wasnt ready for that type of work out. SCARY SOMEONE MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH

TDGee

Rule Number One: EVERYBODY Dies.


It's how you live that matters.

discodaddy61

just remember that most of these deaths were probably caused by other undiagnosed problems possibly enlarged heart or asthma or COPD possible CHF maybe other problems that they werent aware of. remember that other professional athleted died such as walter payton, florence griffith joiner, hank gatjhers, pete maravich so if really concerns you then get a full check up including blood work and EKG from physician

gashinshotan

I did some more research and exercising does lead to an enlarged heart in runners and apparently at least some of these deaths were due to abnormal enlargement.... ah I need an EKG

just remember that most of these deaths were probably caused by other undiagnosed problems possibly enlarged heart or asthma or COPD possible CHF maybe other problems that they werent aware of. remember that other professional athleted died such as walter payton, florence griffith joiner, hank gatjhers, pete maravich so if really concerns you then get a full check up including blood work and EKG from physician

fteale

I don't think it's new. If you have heart problems, especially undiagnosed, then putting a strain like a marathon on it is going to be a risk. The reason it's increasing is just that more people are doing it.

fteale

BTW enlarged hearts and heart scarring is generally seen in extreme athletes, i.e. people who have run 100+ marathons, and long distance rowers, it's not something that a casual exerciser, or even a casual marathoner would need to worry about.

BerryH

I'd be interested to see if anyone had worked out the statistics, i.e. is the death rate among the hundred of thousands of people who run marathons every year any higher than in the general populace, many of whom will be putting a different strain on their hearts by being overweight and inactive.

fionarama

it is becoming more and more common and popular to run marathons, as more people do it the stats will increase for these kinds of things. Likely these people would have died of a heart attack anyway at some stage it just happened to be then.

vanessaclarkgbr

Further reading if you're interested - http://www.c-r-y.org.uk/medical_conditions.htm

I'm not going to do myself as much damage plodding around the park a few times a week as I was driving 100's of miles a week eating cake for lunch and dinner - so ignorance is bliss for me :-) Did have a full check up at my heaviest and to my amazement everything was fine (confident it wouldn't have stayed that way for much longer!)

RAFValentina

Your comments are freaking me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The other day I did a vigorous work out for the first time and i had a few heart palpitations and thought i was going to have a heart attack. im only 26 so it was scary. Im keeping it moderate for now on. my heart wasnt ready for that type of work out. SCARY SOMEONE MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH

hydration...


But if you're scared go get checked out by doc. If you're gonna have a sudden cardiac arrest it'll probably happen anyway despite exercise... if there sno reason to suspect anything then you're in a much better position working out than not and staying healthy. Its just one of those things, nature. Chill, relax and enjoy or the stress you'll get might just kill ya!

LilMissFoodie

It is very sad and while some of these people surely would have had pre-existing conditions, they may not be the type that is picked up on a routine screen and a few people may have no pre-existing condition at all and still unfortunately suffer sudden cardiac problems.

In terms of prevention, while there is little you can do if you have an abnormality that you are unaware of - incorrect hydration can also contribute to sudden cardiac death so it is important to ensure you are hydrating with something that contains electrolytes, not just water (I am not talking about everyday hydration, I am talking when you are actually running the long distance events). Carbohydrate loading is also important for these events, not only for muscle endurance but also to assist with keeping your plasma electrolyte levels stable.

Usbornegal

My wonderful brother in law passed away of a heart attack in the middle of dinner one night a couple weeks after having passed a cardiac stress test. Point is it is not always predictable no matter what you are doing. A coworker did her first half marathon without really training for it and did NOT follow my advice on how to hydrate, collapsed near the finish line and had a trip to the hospital to rehydrate - she does not remember her friend helping her across the finish line.

My thought is that these deaths could be from undiagnosed issues, poor training and lack of hydration. I use the Jeff Gallagher method that allows periods of heart recovery DURING the run. Works for me - or it will once my knee finishes rehabbing.

Little_Ms_

Don't live in fear.
Get a full medical once a year and live life to the fullest.

Deirdre_R

There are some heart conditions which potentially can go undiagnosed in otherwise fit people. http://www.c-r-y.org.uk/medical_conditions.htm which someone mentioned, is a brilliant organisation, as is www.cardiomyiopathy.org.uk. My own partner died of Dilated Cardiomyopathy a couple of months ago. It is less likely to cause sudden death - with my partner it caused chronic heart failure - but it is one of the conditions listed on the CRY site. If you are concerned ask your doctor for a checkup. It's also important to note that often these conditions will produce symptoms, but it's always possible to be asymtomatic. Some of the conditions have a hereditary component so if someone is diagnosed with it, their first degree relatives will be tested.

LorinaLynn

I read a news bit yesterday about a woman who is in a coma and near death after collapsing while coloring her hair. Bizarre allergic reaction to one of the chemicals in the dye, even though she'd used it for years.

I'm not going to stop running, nor am I going to let my hair go grey.

thpeek

I seen a television program (I can't remember which one) just a few weeks ago. As it turns out the majority of the runners that have died had underlying heart conditions, most had dialated (enlarged) or ischemic (heart disease) Cardiomyopathy, something I am all too familiar with since my husband at the age of 38 was working out in the gym and fainted, an ambulance was called and he was taken to the Emergency room, he was later diagnosed as having dialated Cardiomyopathy. An echo of his heart and another test where they went through his leg veins to see the inside of his heart showed that my husband at one point in his life, (they said most likely childhood) had a bad virus settle in his heart and left him with horrible amounts of scar tissue inside and on the outside of his heart.

The doctors explained to us that my husband was a walking dead man because the scar tissue was causing his hearts electrical system to miss-fire and that this is why so many athletes die of sudden cardiac arrest with very little or no warning or symptoms. They said my husband was a miracle and he should have died years ago.

The doctors immediatly installed a Pace-maker/Defibrillator device and put my husband on a rythm drug so that sudden death would not happen to him. My husband is now 48 and has Zero plaque in his arteries since he grew up the first 18 years of his life a vegitarian and always ate a very clean diet since he was a bodybuilder. He did everything right but even he could not stop a simple virus that settled in his heart.

My 15 year old son a year ago peed a large amount of blood, we rushed him to the urologist and guess what it was, a Cold Virus that he had had 2 weeks earlier had settled in and attacked one of his kidneys causing a kidney bleed. We also could not have prevented that. This stuff happens and it is not as rare as you think.

Arabian♥Breeze

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hydration...


But if you're scared go get checked out by doc. If you're gonna have a sudden cardiac arrest it'll probably happen anyway despite exercise... if there sno reason to suspect anything then you're in a much better position working out than not and staying healthy. Its just one of those things, nature. Chill, relax and enjoy or the stress you'll get might just kill ya!
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Thanks. I'm feeling better today lol I have been talking with my Doctor. And had a EKG done this year and my Heart was fine. But yea im feeling better thanks except the part where you said stress is going to kill me hahaha because it just might lmao

Thanks

Still_Fluffy

I was 30, weight 315 pounds, had a history of smoking, and a family history of heart issues when I ran my first marathon. I'm now training for my 3rd and I'm healty. The amount of people that die from heart attacks from running is much less then the number that are hit by car running. High school kids have heart attacks on the basketball court too, some people have heart issues sthat they don't know about. The only thing you can do is follow your training program and if you start to see issues go to your doctor. Several people suggested getting a physical before running a big race, I think that is a good idea. I should have done that.