Older males who compete in endurance sports more likely to have heart scarring, study finds

Athletes in the Fastnet Triathlon in Schull recently.  Academics from the University of Leeds studied 106 former competitive cyclists and triathletes who exercise for more than 10 hours a week for at least 15 years. File picture: Terry Attridge

Older male endurance athletes may be at higher risk of heart scarring and related complications, according to a new study.

Sudden cardiac death is a "leading cause of mortality" in athletes, experts said as they set out to investigate whether endurance athletes had heart scarring and linked heart rhythm problems.