November 18, 2024
Keio University
A research group, including Associate Professor Tomohiro Manabe from the Sports Medicine Research Center at Keio University, Dr. Yutaka Kato from the National Hospital Organization Kasumigaura Medical Center, and Fumihiro Yamasawa, Director of the Marubeni Health Development Center, all members of the Medical Commission of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF), investigated cases of cardiac arrest that occurred during JAAF-certified marathon races (42.195 km) held from April 2011 to March 2019. Across 516 races with a cumulative total of approximately 4.1 million participants, 69 cases of cardiac arrest occurred (66 of whom were male), and 68 were successfully resuscitated (a survival rate of 98.6%). The incidence of cardiac arrest was 1.7 per 100,000 participants. The study revealed that the incidence rate increases with age, with rates of 0.9 for those under 40, 0.9 for those in their 40s, 2.6 for those in their 50s, and 5.5 for those aged 60 and over. In contrast, an analysis of female participants alone showed no trend of increasing cardiac arrest incidence with age. These findings suggest the importance of appropriate pre-race medical check-ups, especially for male runners aged 60 and over.
The results of this study were published on November 14, 2024, in the international academic journal Resuscitation , issued by the European Resuscitation Council.
Please see below for the full press release.