Heat Stroke Should Be A Top Concern in Endurance Sports

When it comes to sudden death during endurance racing, the two main culprits are arrhythmic death and heat stroke. While the focus has been on cardiac events, a new study finds that heat stroke may be more widespread.

In a study of 137,580 long-distance runners, researchers reported 2 serious cardiac events—1 myocardial infarction and 1 hypotensive supraventricular tachyarrhythmia. Neither was considered life threatening (ie, required mechanical ventilation or hospitalization in intensive care units).
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Within the same group of runners, researchers reported 21 serious cases of heat stroke. Of these, 2 were fatal and 12 were considered life threatening. One of the fatalities presented with cardiac arrest.

Researchers concluded a 1:10 ratio: For every 1 serious cardiac adverse event, there were 10 serious events related to heat stroke.

The complete study is available in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

- Pooja Shah

Reference:

Yankelson L, Sadeh B, Gershovitz L, et al. Life-threatening events during endurance sports. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014;64(5):463-469.