Posted on 19th January 2017
I was invited to take part in this study as a first time marathon runner. I wanted to embrace the whole marathon experience so happily signed up. Why would I not as it offered me an opportunity to undergo free and comprehensive heart MOTs and knee MRIs, which would have cost more than £2300 if done privately? It will also allow me to be able to see how much my peak fitness improves as a result of my training.
My appointment was on 30th October 2016 at Barts Hospital in London. The tests I had included heart tracings, heart ultrasound scans, exercise fitness tests (VO2 max), blood tests and MRI scans of the heart and knees. All this took about 4 and a half hours. I did have a slight blip with one of my blood pressure results in that it was raised, but later on during the tests it was normal, so this wasn’t considered to be a problem. All my other test results (ECG, blood and cardiac MRI) revealed no significant cardiac abnormalities.
I will have to return for a repeat set of tests two weeks after the marathon.
Marilyn's Marathon Blog 