Cardiac Biomarker Levels After a Football Match in Professional Versus Amateur Lithuanian Football Players

Background: There are very limited scientific data available on cardiac troponin I release after intermittent exercise. To know the different factors that mediate cTnI release after exercise is of concern for scientists. In this regard, our study is based on two major goals: 1) to evaluate the cTnI release in individuals during a sports match; and 2) to understand the impact of the status of the athlete (biological) on the release of individual cTnI. Methods: A total of 44 players, including “22 adult professional [PFP]: 24.2±4.5 years, 22 adult amateur [AFP]: 26.5±3.6 years” were involved in a match simulated as real. Successive observations of cTnI release were obtained at different settings such as at rest, pre-exercise, and instant-post-exercise at regular intervals of 3, 6, and then 24 h post-exercise. Results: From the obtained results it was observed that the individual highest values were vastly varied, with higher levels of cTnI release baseline and post-exercise for PFP players as compared to those of AFP (all p < 0.05). Moreover, the cTnI levels were increased (peak post: 0.024 [0.004-0.244] μg/L; p < 0.05). Additionally, the cTnI peak values surpassed the upper limit of reference in 77.3% of PFP (17 PFP). Conclusions: Our study data results affirm that the cTnI release is highly affected by the status of athletes. The cTnI release is enhanced by intermittent exercise.