Mathie P.G. Leers, Raymond Schepers, Ruben Baumgarten
Effects of a long-distance run on cardiac markers in healthy athletes
Background: Running a marathon is a stressful event for athletes. Limited research exists on the role of cardiac markers during such a strenuous event. The aim of this study was to investigate detailed changes in cardiac markers before and after a long-distance run.
Methods: We studied 25 male and 2 female runners (age 34–64 years) who were running the Visé-Maastricht-Visé marathon. Blood samples were drawn just before and immediately after finishing the marathon. An additional blood sample was collected 24 h later.
Results: Running the marathon led to a significant increase in cortisol. This returned to baseline values 24 h after the marathon. There was a slight increase in brain natriuretic peptide (BNP); however, this was not statistically significant. On the contrary, the N-terminal fragment of BNP (NT-pro-BNP) was significantly increased immediately after the run and was normalized 24 h later in 26 out of 27 runners (96%). The magnitude of the transient elevations in BNP and NT-pro-BNP increased with the age of the athletes. Furthermore, in 9 out of 27 runners there was a significant increase in troponin T. However, in all these runners this increase was transient and troponin-T levels returned to baseline values 24 h after the marathon.
Conclusions: Running a marathon significantly increases NT-pro-BNP levels in healthy adults. This increase could be partially attributed to cardiac stress. The transient increases in BNP, NT-pro-BNP and troponin T are more likely to reflect myocardial stunning than cardiomyocyte damage. It seems that the magnitude of the increase in BNP could serve as a marker of the biological age of the myocardium.
Clin Chem Lab Med 2006;44:999–1003.
Clinical Chemical Laboratory Medicine, Walter de Gruyter
Print ISSN: 1434-6621
Volume: 44, 08/2006
Pages: 999 - 1003
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