Introduction .– The aim of our study is to assess morphological, hemodynamic cardiovascular and pulmonary changes, in 40 veteran marathoners aged over than 40 years and compared to a control group using electrocardiogram, echocardiography, exercise testing and VO ₂ max.

Methods and results .– Our study is prospective comparing two groups: group of 40 veteran marathoners and control group of forty people. All participants underwent a clinical examination, electrocardiogram at rest, Doppler echocardiography, a stress test and the measurement of VO ₂ max. Electric variables, echocardiographic and VO ₂ max were compared between the two groups using the Student test and other statistical tools with the software SPSS 17.0. In the group of veteran marathoners, the wall thickness was (9,9 ± 1.5 vs 8.4 ± 1.4 mm in the control group; P < 0.05), the left ventricular diastolic diameter was (56.3 ± 3.40 vs 40.2 ± 3.5 mm in the control group; P < 0.01), and the surface of left atrium was (18.5 ± 3.9 vs 14.0 ± 3.5 cm2 in the control group; P < 0.1).The VO ₂ max was (48.9 ± 7.9 vs 18.5 ± 6. in the control group) ( P < 0.01).

Discussion .– The hemodynamic and morphological changes are the results of a cardiac adaptation required in veteran marathoners who are subjected to moderately important efforts. They have not only cardiac remodeling but also an optimal filter then using of oxygen inspired dependent on years of training and the number of training sessions per week.

Conclusion .– Cardiovascular and pulmonary exploration in veteran marathoners aged over forty allows a distinction between electrical changes and cardiac remodelling in physiological and pathological conditions. These changes vary depending on years of training and hours of training per week. A correlation between their size and physical ability of veteran marathoners is plausible.