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Marijon, E., Tafflet, M., Celermajer, D.S., Dumas, F., Perier, M.C., Mustafic, H., Toussaint, J.F., Desnos, M., Fieu, M., Benameur, N., LeHeuzey, J.Y., Empana, J.P. and Jouven, X. (2011) Sports-related sudden death in the general population. Circulation, 124, 672-681. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.008979

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: The rationale for pre-race aspirin to protect susceptible runners from sudden cardiac death during marathons: Deconstructing the Pheidippides conundrum

  AUTHORS: Arthur J. Siegel

  KEYWORDS: Marathon Running; Cardiac Arrest; Acute Myocardial Infarction; Atherothrombosis; Aspirin Prophylaxis

  JOURNAL NAME: World Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases, Vol.3 No.5A, August 22, 2013

  ABSTRACT: Objectives: While endurance exercise such as training for marathons is cardioprotective, cardiac arrests and sudden death occur in previously healthy runners during races predominantly in middle-aged males due to atherosclerotic heart disease. Recent evidence related to this problem is reviewed herein including epidemiologic studies and findings related to acute cardiac risk in asymptomatic middle-aged male runners during races. Method: Literature review related to the above. Findings: The risks of cardiac arrest and sudden death were 1 in 57,002 and 1 in 171,005 respectively in runners with a mean age of 49.7 years among 1,710,052 participants in marathons in the United States since 1980. Atherosclerotic heart disease was the cause of death in over 90% of cases in two retrospective studies and a greater than two-fold increase in cardiac arrests was observed in middle-aged men in the latter half of a 10-year prospective registry beginning in the year 2000. Asymptomatic middle-aged male runners showed elevated biomarkers of inflammation such as interleukin-6, C-reactive protein together with procoagulant effects including in vivo platelet activation, indicating susceptibility to atherothrombosis. Conclusions: Antithrombotic prophylaxis is evidence-based by validated clinical paradigms to prevent cardiac arrest and sudden death in susceptibile marathon runners at high risk for atherothrombosis during races.