Cardiac Arrest in Marathon Runner Due to Severe Undiagnosed Single-Vessel Coronary Artery Stenosis
Mahir Khan1, Shiva Sah1, Rashmi Rege1
1Department of Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA.
Insights
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is rare in healthy older adults. However, a marathon runner experienced SCA due to undiagnosed coronary artery disease, highlighting potential risks in older endurance athletes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Sports Medicine
- Geriatrics
Background:
- Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in older individuals is typically linked to coronary artery disease.
- It is considered rare in healthy individuals with good functional status.
Observation:
- A healthy marathon runner experienced SCA during a race.
- The runner was diagnosed with severe, undiagnosed coronary artery disease.
- Successful percutaneous coronary intervention with a drug-eluting stent led to a full recovery.
Findings:
- The incidence of SCA during long-distance running is approximately 1 per 184,000 participants.
- Undiagnosed coronary artery disease can be the underlying cause of SCA in older individuals.
- Older endurance athletes may represent a subpopulation at higher risk for SCA than anticipated, despite low atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk scores.
Implications:
- Older endurance athletes may require more refined cardiovascular risk assessments.
- Further research is needed to evaluate screening tools for identifying at-risk older endurance athletes.
- This case underscores the importance of considering coronary artery disease in older athletes presenting with SCA.
Background:
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in older individuals is often attributed to coronary artery disease and is rare in otherwise healthy individuals with good functional status.
Case Summary:
A healthy marathon runner experienced SCA during a race and was found to have severe undiagnosed coronary artery disease. He underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with a drug-eluting stent and made a full recovery.
Discussion:
The incidence of SCA during long-distance running is 1 per 184,000 participants. Older individuals may have undiagnosed coronary artery disease as the underlying cause of SCA.
Take-Home Messages:
Although acute coronary events may be uncommon in patients with low atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk scores, a subpopulations of older endurance athletes may be at higher risk than anticipated. Older endurance athletes may benefit from refined risk assessments, and further research is warranted to assess available screening tools for this subpopulation.
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