While
participating in my mentorship in the cardiology department, I discovered a
very interesting fact. My mentor made a
comment, while reading an article on a man who keeled over and died while
running a marathon, about how running can be very unhealthy for you. I found this very intriguing since I am an
avid runner, so I discovered an article on the subject from Medical News
Today. The article stated that running
for too long or too fast doesn’t do any more good to health than a moderate
vigorous session of 30-50 minutes. It proceeded
to explain that it is a common misconception to think that more intensive and
longer-lasting exercise can only do you “extra good”. Researchers stated that evidence shows that
activities such as marathons are more likely to cause harm to heart
health. Chronic extreme endurance seems
to cause excessive wear and tear on the heart, along with adverse structural
and electrical remodeling. This article
made me think twice about running for a long period of time and reconsider
doing short spurts of moderate exercise.
Nordqvist, Christian.
"Beware of the Dangers of Long Term Marathons." Medical News Today.
Academic Journal, 30 Nov. 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.
