Participate in a sporting event for greater longevity

Participating in sports competitions reduces the risk of death for several years. Details from Martin Ducret.

Martin Ducret, doctor and journalist at Doctor’s Daily, tells us today abouta large study which reveals that participating in a sporting event, such as the Paris half-marathon which takes place today Sunday March 3 for example, does not lead to a greater risk of sudden death, and reduces the risk of death on the long term.

franceinfo: Are you announcing good news for sports fans?

Martin Ducret: Yes, it is an unprecedented Dutch study, on more than 700,000 people, which compared the risk of death between participants in at least one large-scale sporting event (such as running, cycling or walking) and people having not participated in any event of this type.

In total, participants had, on the one hand, no greater risk of death than non-participants during or in the 7 days following the event, and above all their risk of death, from all causes, was reduced by more than 30% during the 3 years following the event…

So in summary: participating in a large-scale sporting event, such as a half-marathon, does not lead to a greater risk of sudden death during the race and the following days, and allows for better long-term survival!

If the risk of sudden death is not increased in this study, does that mean that intense exercise is not dangerous for the heart?

In the vast majority of cases, fortunately no, it is not dangerous. But be careful, it all depends on the age of the person, the condition of their heart and their sports practice. For example, a person who is 60 years old, who smokes and who has not exercised for 20 years, is much more likely to have heart disease.

Practicing intense physical activity could then lead to a heart complication which could lead to sudden death. “So it is not sport that is responsible for heart disease, explained to me Dr François Raoux, cardiologist at INSEP and the Montsouris Institute in Paris, vs‘is physical exercise that is indicative of an unknown, and sometimes silent, heart disease.”

Hence the importance of carrying out a consultation with a doctor to detect a possible underlying heart disease?

Quite. Even if, for many patients, it is a simple formality, this medical consultation with cardiac auscultation, and above all, the carrying out of an electrocardiogram (an examination which makes it possible to measure the electrical activity of the heart and to detect anomalies), ​​remains essential before any practice of a new physical activity, especially in an elderly subject with risk factors.

At the end of this consultation, the doctor will issue you with a medical certificate, which will give you plenty of time to participate in a half-marathon, or even a marathon for the bravest!