Emory Doctor To Study Peachtree Road Race Runners’ Hearts
Dr. Jonathan Kim holds up the t-shirt his study participants will wear during the Peachtree Road Race.
MARTHA DALTON / WABE
More than 60,000 athletes will lace up their shoes to run the Peachtree Road Race Saturday. This year, a select group of runners also will be part of a medical study.
Cardiologist Jonathan Kim, who teaches at the Emory University School of Medicine, wants to see how well runners’ hearts work before and after running a 10-kilometer race. That’s why he will be testing his subjects at the race expo before they run.
Kim calls his study Promoting Endurance Exercise in Atlanta for Cardiac Health, or PEACH.
“This is our pre-study to look at cardiac function and draw some blood and EKG,” he explained. “We’re going to do the exact same studies after the race as well.”
A total of 80 runners have signed up for the study. Kim expects most will have good results.
Participant Rosemary Kermahan sure hopes so. “I mean, I like to think I’m healthy, so hopefully this will support that premise,” said Kermahan, who will be running in her 17th Peachtree Road Race.
Kim says it will take about a year to analyze the results.
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