My heart will go on... Heart disease and Marathon running.

I hated that dumb movie:)! This is going to be a somewhat controversial blog. I am an exercise physiologist who has done her research. I could use all the big words and cite all the articles but this is not my dissertation. This is my dumb blog about girly issues and running. I have read countless articles from all the major medical journals and this is my non medical terminology synopsis of the evidence on heart disease and marathon running. This is my point of view and not a medical professionals opinion. Would you really want to read it is it was straight out of a research journal anyway? If you want the facts, go to google scholar and type in marathon and running. So many articles from the London marathon and my hometown and first, Boston.
Truth is there is evidence to support that after a marathon the heart is strained and shows visible signs of wear and tear. Running 26.2 miles in a decent time is going to take a toll physically. The amount of blood that is needed to flow to get oxygen to the muscles is astronomical. Of course the heart is going to be working overtime to pump all that blood. As an exercise physiologist I knew the answer before I read the articles. If you have studied anatomy and physiology, it's just common sense. If you run a marathon, it probably means you trained and have been running crazy amounts. So not only did you work your heart on race day, but you have been doing it for months or years. So at the end of the day you have a higher chance of a sudden cardiac event then someone who runs 5k's.
Ok, so we have established that yes, it's true. Now let's look at it from a different point of view. Well, my point of view. If you have seen my posts you know I'm a former hot mess. I was a drunk, overweight idiot. Then, I went the opposite direction and had a hard time eating. Either way I was doing extreme damage to my body and the picture of health I was not! During training I developed a healthy diet that full filled all my nutrient requirements. I also ate the right amount of calories per day. My hair is growing back and I don't look like death slightly warmed over. My resting heart rate is about 47, it used to be 90-120 when I was overweight. My blood pressure is always 100/62, when I was overweight it was 160/90. All of my blood work comes back better then average.
More importantly, when I started training I was suffering from a broken heart. Damage from years of depression and anxiety had finally taken it's toll. I would cry over dinner and refused to eat more than 800 calories per day. My hair was practically gone and I looked like I hadn't slept in months. Truth is marathon running saved my life.
The answer no one wants to hear... I don't give a shit:). To live a happy life running my behind all over the world, meeting new people and enjoying the fresh air is worth it to me. To say I would die happy is an understatement. In less than a year my world has changed, I've changed! I smile all the time, a bad day is not a catastrophic event and I laugh all the time. I feel healthy every morning (a little sore but healthy). I'm running f*#king Paris in 5 months. I'm going to my dream city and getting run it's marathon. I want to do it all while I'm young and healthy. Truth is I could either die of a broken heart or live a long healthy life as a marathoner and live my dream. Seems like an easy choice:)! 5 months to Paris, 2 months to 1/2 in Central Park!