Strenuous exercise and the heart: Are we not seeing the wood for the trees?

Abstract

The health benefits of regular moderate-intensity physical activity (e.g. brisk walking, jogging) are well established and include, among others, a lower risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Yet whether such benefits, especially with regard to CVD, are also conferred by higher exercise levels is a matter of growing controversy in the medical literature. For instance, Guash and Mont recently expressed understandable concern about the link between regular strenuous endurance exercise.