BMJ 1997;315:370 (9 August)

Letters

Hazards of running a marathon

41-Fold increase in creatine kinase has been reported

Editor–The recent grand round from Hammersmith Hospital pointed out that, 24 hours after a marathon run, creatine kinase activity may be raised in the absence of myocardial infarction.1 The author recorded a total creatine kinase activity of 1800 IU/l 24 hours after a marathon, causing the registrar in chemical pathology who was on duty to think temporarily that the 61 year old runner might have had a myocardial infarction.

In 1984 I described my own experience of measuring multiple variables during a marathon run.2 The creatine kinase activity before the race was 83 IU/l, and at 8, 16, and 24 km it was 111, 133, and 168 IU/l respectively. At the end of the run the activity had risen to 480 IU/l, and the next day it was 3410 IU/l. Two days later the activity was 1965 IU/l, seven days later it . . . [Full text of this article]


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