Key result
Maximal exercise in elite ski-mountaineering athletes resulted in significant differences in LV-GLS mean (p=0.0036) and phasic LA conduit strain pattern (p=0.0033) compared to rest.
Why the study?
The study evaluated pronounced echocardiographic physiological remodeling and sports-related cardiac deformation patterns in elite ski-mountaineering athletes using speckle tracking echocardiography.
Does maximal exercise modify left ventricular, left atrial, and right ventricular strain in elite ski-mountaineering athletes?
Observational (n=11)
Does maximal exercise modify left ventricular, left atrial, and right ventricular strain in elite ski-mountaineering athletes?
p-value: p=0.0036
Maximal exercise induces significant dynamic remodeling of the left heart, specifically altering LV-GLS and LA conduit strain in elite ski-mountaineering athletes.
Exercise-induced strain changes in elite athletes warrant caution before clinical extrapolation; leaves open prognostic value in broader populations.
Eleven world elite ski-mountaineering (Ski-Mo) athletes were evaluated for pronounced echocardiographic physiological remodeling as the primary aim of our feasibility speckle tracking study. In this context, sports-related cardiac remodeling was analyzed by performing two-dimensional echocardiography, including speckle tracking analysis of the left atrium (LA), right ventricle (RV) and left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) at rest and post-peak performance. The feasibility echocardiographic speckle tracking analysis was performed on eleven elite Ski-Mo athletes, which were obtained in 2022 during the annual medical examination. The obtained data of the professional Ski-Mo athletes (11 athletes, age: 18–26 years) were compared for different echocardiographic parameters at rest and post-exercise. Significant differences were found for LV-GLS mean (p = 0.0036) and phasic LA conduit strain pattern at rest and post-exercise (p = 0.0033). Furthermore, negative correlation between LV mass and LV-GLS (p = 0.0195, r = −0.69) and LV mass Index and LV-GLS (p = 0.0253, r = −0.66) at rest were elucidated. This descriptive reporting provided, for the first time, a sport-specific dynamic remodeling of an entire elite national team of the Ski-Mo athlete’s left heart and elucidated differences in the dynamic deformation pattern of the left heart.
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Zimmermann et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Healthy elite athletes (n=11). Maximal exercise vs. Rest was evaluated on LV-GLS mean and phasic LA conduit strain pattern (p=0.0036). Maximal exercise in elite ski-mountaineering athletes resulted in significant differences in LV-GLS mean (p=0.0036) and phasic LA conduit strain pattern (p=0.0033) compared to rest.
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