A hidden risk for marathon runners?

[Star Tribune, March 26, 2010] Legend has it that Philippides, a Greek messenger, inspired the first marathon when he ran 26 miles from the city of that name to Athens to report the outcome of a battle. As he reached the marketplace, he reportedly gasped, "We have won," and dropped dead.

To Dr. Robert Schwartz, this is a cautionary tale. Schwartz, a cardiologist at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, studied 25 elite male runners who completed the Twin Cities Marathon for 25 consecutive years. Surprisingly, they had 62 percent more plaque in their coronary arteries than a similar group of nonathletes.