RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Post-mortem evidence of idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy and idiopathic interstitial myocardial fibrosis: is exercise the cause? JF British Journal of Sports Medicine JO Br J Sports Med FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine SP 304 OP 305 DO 10.1136/bjsm.2007.038158 VO 42 IS 4 A1 G Whyte A1 M Sheppard A1 K George A1 R Shave A1 M Wilson A1 S Prasad A1 R O’Hanlon A1 S Sharma YR 2008 UL http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/42/4/304.abstract AB A growing body of evidence reporting altered cardiac function and myocardial damage after arduous exercise, together with the increased prevalence of arrhythmias observed in highly trained athletes, suggests that repetitive bouts of prolonged, arduous exercise may be deleterious to long-term cardiac health. We report the case of an experienced, highly trained marathon runner who died suddenly while running. On post-mortem examination, left ventricle hypertrophy and idiopathic interstitial myocardial fibrosis was found. We believe that life-long, repetitive bouts of arduous physical activity resulted in fibrous replacement of the myocardium, causing a pathological substrate for the propagation of fatal arrhythmias.