Most athletes pay a physical price for their love of the sport, but the ones who engage in endurance sports may be pushing their bodies to the brink of heart failure, according to a new study.

That’s because the physical wear and tear of years of heavy-duty workouts appear to weaken the heart muscle predisposing an athlete to a rare, but potentially deadly, condition called ventricular arrhythmia in which the heart beats erratically.

[Read](http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/01/22/exercise_hea.html?category=health&guid=20070122144500&dcitc=w19-502-ak-0000 “Read the Story”) (AP via the Discovery Channel)