Key result
Aerobically trained athletes exhibited larger left ventricles and reduced fractional shortening compared to controls, with 9 of 20 athletes falling below the normal limit of 26%.
Why the study?
Does aerobic training alter echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular function and chamber size in male athletes compared to controls?
Cross-Sectional (n=40)
Does aerobic training alter echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular function and chamber size in male athletes compared to controls?
Aerobically trained athletes may exhibit enlarged left ventricles and reduced fractional shortening on echocardiography, which reflects physiological adaptation rather than myocardial disease.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Interpret reduced fractional shortening cautiously in trained athletes to avoid misdiagnosing cardiomyopathy; cross-sectional data leaves open prospective validation.
We compared the echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular function in 20 aerobically trained male athletes (VO2 max 61 ml/kg/min) with 20 control subjects of similar age and size (VO2 max 37 ml/kg/min). On average, the left ventricle was larger in athletes and the extent of myocardial contraction (fractional shortening) was reduced. In nine athletes, fractional shortening was less than our laboratory lower limit of normal (26%) and in four athletes the left ventricle was enlarged and fractional shortening was reduced. However, the peak rate of circumferential shortening was not reduced in athletes. We concluded that athletes have normal myocardial contractility but some have a reduced extent of myocardial contraction which could be mistaken for the effects of myocardial disease.
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Blair et al. (1980) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy (Aerobically trained athletes) (n=40). Aerobic training vs. Untrained controls was evaluated on Left ventricular function and cardiac chamber size (fractional shortening and peak rate of circumferential shortening). Aerobically trained athletes exhibited larger left ventricles and reduced fractional shortening compared to controls, with 9 of 20 athletes falling below the normal limit of 26%.
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