A l'UM la science [S04-ep14] : Heart and lungs put to the ultra-triathlon test

This week in A l'UM la science, Christophe Hedon, cardiologist at the CHU and Olivier Cazorla, researcher at PhyMedExp, discuss the link between lung disorders and cardiac fatigue in ultra-triathletes. Sylvain Wagnon, researcher at Lirdef, is our last-minute guest, presenting a Wednesday of knowledge on the theme of School in and with nature. A program broadcast every Wednesday on Divergence FM 93.9.

We'd like to wish you all a very happy New Year in 2025. Perhaps you're one of the vast majority of French men and women who have put sport at the top of their list of good resolutions! This is a windfall for fitness clubs, which usually record a spectacular increase in registrations in January. If, like me, you're not one of these early adopters, don't feel so guilty! Half of them will stop going to the gym in a month's time, and only 20% will continue their efforts until October.

Some may become true athletes, so much so that they want to compete in the ultimate event: the marathon! And the craziest will aim for those extreme competitions known as ultra-triathlon or ultra-trail. The best-known of these is theIronman: 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride before finishing with a short marathon or 42 km run. A craze created in 1978 in Hawaii, a country that also invented the Bicmac Supersize menu.

And before you accuse me of manifest bad faith, motivated solely by my laziness, I suggest you take a look at the study our guests conducted into the possible consequences of these Herculean physical efforts on heart and lung function. Previous studies had indeed already revealed that this type of exercise could momentarily alter the cardiac and pulmonary capacities of athletes, but these researchers are the first to have worked on the hypothesis of an association between pulmonary dysfunction and cardiac disorders.

Joining us in the studio are Christophe Hedon, cardiologist at Montpellier University Hospital, and Olivier Cazorla, CNRS researcher at the PhyMedExp laboratory.

Our last-minute guest is Sylvain Wagnon, researcher at Lirdef. He will be presenting the next Wednesdays of Knowledge conference on the theme of Schools in and with nature.

At UM la science you've got the program, let's go!

Coproduction: Divergence FM / Université de Montpellier
Animation: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interviews : Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Production : Robin Laillou

Listen to the program "A l'UM la science" on Divergence FM 93.9