Study Reveals Decline in Marathon-Related cardiac Arrest Deaths

Although participation in long-distance running events has increased significantly, recent studies show that the occurrence of cardiac arrest among participants remains unchanged. Interestingly, the mortality rate due to cardiac arrests during these races has decreased.

Published in JAMA, the study reviewed The Race-Associated Cardiac Event Registry (RACER) gathered details about instances of cardiac arrests occurring during marathons and half-marathons. It contrasted race statistics from 2010 through 2023 against those recorded from 2000 to 2009. Between 2010 and 2023, the RACER registry encompassed 443 U.S. events including both full-length and half-distance races.

The writers attribute the higher survival rates to prompt bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the quick deployment of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) alongside running routes, urging for their continued presence in such areas.

Over the course of the study, there were approximately 29.3 million participants who completed races, with 176 recorded instances of cardiac arrests and 59 fatalities. The proportion of deaths from cardiac arrest stayed consistent from 2010 through 2019 but saw a minor increase from 2020 to 2023. Researchers suggest this uptick might have been caused by decreased identification of heart conditions during the initial phases of the coronavirus pandemic.

Overall, however, fatalities due to cardiac arrests decreased at long-distance races over the course of the study. There was a reduction of 48 percent in such incidents between 2015 and 2023 compared to the figures from 2010 to 2014. Between 2000 and 2009, the mortality rate for these events stood at 71 percent; this dropped significantly to 34 percent by the span covering 2010 through 2023.

Males faced a greater risk of experiencing cardiac arrests compared to females, and running marathons posed a higher risk than participating in half-marathons. The primary medical condition linked to these sudden cardiac events was found to be coronary artery disease.

The research team points out that runners experience cardiac arrests at a lower rate compared to triathletes. They also mention that the majority of sudden heart stoppages during endurance runs typically happen in the final segment of the race, often very near the end.