In the Zhuhai Half Marathon, Yong Fang, who was 1 km away from the finish line, fell to the ground and died of cardiac arrest. It is reported that sudden death due to long-distance running occurs every year, and most of them are young amateur athletes. Yong Fang, the running friend of this marathon, is a special soldier who loves outdoor sports and has been in good health. Why did such an unfortunate thing happen?
Is sudden death in marathon related to physical fitness?
Statistics show that the death rate of international marathon is 50000/ 1, which is regarded as a high-risk sport. After individual cases of sudden death occurred in Guangzhou Marathon, many people blamed the problem on the physical decline of Chinese people, but this is not the case. Most sudden deaths in running marathons are caused by heart disease. Although regular exercise can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 30%-50%, if it is a marathon, the risk of cardiovascular disease will increase by 7 times.
It was found that during the marathon, more than half of the hearts stopped moving due to the decrease of blood flow and the increase of inflammatory mediators. This temporary heart injury may be one of the causes of sudden death. In addition, when the human body is engaged in strenuous exercise, the metabolic rate in the body is accelerated and the myocardial oxygen demand is increased. At this time, myocardial ischemia and hypoxia are prone to occur. If ischemia lasts for more than half an hour, myocardial ischemia and necrosis may occur, which will directly lead to cardiac arrest, thus causing sudden death of athletes.
People with latent heart disease are not suitable for long-distance running.
People with rheumatic heart disease and congenital heart disease are definitely not suitable for long-distance running. People who have suffered from heart disease recently, people with severe coronary heart disease (angina pectoris), or people who feel chest pain during light exercise and turn pale and blue during exercise are not suitable for long-distance running. It should be reminded that some heart diseases may have no symptoms at ordinary times, which can easily lead to sudden death like running a marathon.
In addition, like a viral cold, it can induce heart failure and myocarditis. Especially fulminant viral myocarditis, may lead to sudden death. Therefore, if the cold does not improve in two weeks, accompanied by cough, chest tightness, palpitation and shortness of breath, it is necessary to pay attention to it and see a doctor in time to avoid inducing heart disease.
So a marathon runner had better have his heart examined. It is difficult to find hidden heart disease by ordinary electrocardiogram, so it is better to do 24-hour dynamic electrocardiogram.