Does athletic training increase electrocardiographic and echocardiographic parameters of hypertrophy compared to a sedentary lifestyle in a normotensive population?
Athletic training is associated with a physiological increase in left ventricular mass and ECG indices of hypertrophy without impairing resting ventricular function or increasing ventricular ectopic activity.
Thirty top level athletes, 30 athletic students and 30 sedentary controls underwent electrocardiographic and echocardiographic investigation. Resting ECG in athletes showed increased indices of hypertrophy compared to controls. The echocardiographic examination demonstrated an increase in left ventricular mass (LVM) of 47% in top athletes and 23% in athletic students compared to controls. The relationship between wall thickness and diameter was similar in all groups, as were parameters of systolic and diastolic left ventricular function at rest. There was no correlation between LVM assessed by echocardiography and ventricular ectopic activity assessed by Holter monitoring in this normotensive population. Highly significant correlations between ECG and echocardiographic parameters of hypertrophy were demonstrated.
rnstad et al. (Fri,) studied this question.