Forums >Health and Nutrition>Arterial Calcification & Endurance Running
I'm wondering if anyone has any experience or expert knowledge about arterial calcification as it relates to endurance running.
Quick backstory: I'm 57, and have been running for about 11 years. Peak mileage was a few years ago, averaging in the high 80s/week, peaking in the 90s or low 100s. A recent cardiac calcium screening revealed that for my age, there is more cardiac calcification than "normal." It prompted me to do some investigating, which uncovered research that suggests that endurance athletes (marathon and ultramarathon) who "train hard" have higher rates of arterial calcification (and therefore are at a greater risk of a heart attack) than athletes who train for shorter distances (or who train less strenuously). My cardiologist is encouraging me to think about staying away from "the extremely long/hard stuff," but he admits that the research on this is limited.
So...I'm wondering if anyone has any knowledge or personal experience on this topic.
Are we there, yet?
This is one of the more recent studies I've found on the issue.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7176353/
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Thanks wcrunner, this is more recent than the research I had found, and is very helpful!
My experiment of one: I'm 60 years old (female) and have been running ultras for most of the last 24 years. I had a coronary calcium scan in 2016 and another one this summer...both had a score of zero. It could be fortunate genetics; it could be that I didn't train high-mileage at high intensities; it could be that I eat a low-inflammatory diet. I hope you're able to find some good information on managing or improving your calcium score. Maybe look into Maffetone's Maximum Aerobic Function (MAF) training if you're looking for a way to train with less stress on your system.
A score of zero?! Good for you, runnermom! From what I understand, scores cannot be lowered, so my cardiologist’s goal is to maintain things as they are now. At the same time, I know that research suggests that higher scores in endurance runners may not indicate an actual higher risk.
Thanks! And yes, that research is encouraging. Keep running!