Day 172: Deep Down Inside, I Always Knew Exercise Was Not Good for You

I knew I would be vindicated one day.  A recent report from the Journal of Applied Physiology has indicated that older men who engage in life-long, high-endurance activities are more prone to myocardial fibrosis (which, at is most basic, is a hardening or thickening of the heart valves).  Myocardial fibrosis is found in 16 to 55 percent of all sudden heart attacks.  (I am all for statistics, but seriously, what kind of a statistic is that?  Sixteen to 55 percent?  For crying out loud, they could come up with anything better than a 40 point differential?)   

The article "Diverse patters of myocardial fibrosis in lifelong, veteran endurance athletes" (sorry, the link is for an abstract only, these medical journals rarely let you see the actual work unless you pay up) studied only the most active of men.  They had to be Olympians or members of the elite 100 Marathon Club (which, you guessed it, means you have to have run 100 marathons or more), both young and old (old meaning 67 (sorry for those of you in your sixties, I don't think that is old, but apparently the authors of this study do)).  The results, according to the New York Time's health blog Well were that none of "the younger athletes or the older nonathletes had fibrosis in their hearts. But half of the older lifelong athletes showed some heart muscle scarring."

Okay, so the study doesn't say that exercise is bad for you, but I guess it is important to be moderate in everything that we do.  Then again, I think I would rather die at 65 from a sudden heart attack related to the fact that I had run over 2,620 miles in races during my life than die at 55 from a heart attack related to diabetes and the fact that I had eaten over 2,620 donuts during my life.