Key result
Speckle tracking echocardiography revealed distinct left ventricular deformation patterns, with decreased global longitudinal strain in runners (-19.4%) and decreased global circumferential strain in bodybuilders (-22.4%) compared to controls.
Why the study?
Does the type of intense exercise (endurance vs power) affect left ventricular mechanics in highly trained male athletes?
Cross-Sectional (n=53)
No
Does the type of intense exercise (endurance vs power) affect left ventricular mechanics in highly trained male athletes?
p-value: p=<0.05
Speckle tracking echocardiography reveals distinct patterns of left ventricular deformation in endurance versus power athletes, despite similar conventional echocardiographic parameters.
Should not yet change athlete evaluation; hypothesis-generating for sport-specific LV remodeling needing longitudinal confirmation.
BACKGROUND: Athlete's heart is a common definition for a broad spectrum of adaptations induced by intense exercise. We intended to compare left ventricular (LV) mechanics in two sports disciplines with different exercise nature: marathon runners (endurance) and bodybuilders (power). METHODS: 24 marathon or ultramarathon runners (R), 14 bodybuilders (B) and 15 healthy, sedentary male volunteers (N) were investigated. Beyond standard echocardiographic protocol, parasternal short-axis and apical recordings optimized for speckle tracking analysis were acquired (Esaote MyLab 25). Using dedicated software (TomTec 2D Performance Analysis), global longitudinal (GLS), circumferential (GCS) and radial strain (GRS) were calculated by averaging the corresponding 16 LV segments. Data are presented as mean ± SD. RESULTS: Calculated LV mass was higher in bodybuilders compared to normal controls (R vs. B vs. N: 198 ± 52 vs. 224 ± 69 vs. 186 ± 30 g, p < 0.05). We found no difference regarding conventional systolic function parameters among the groups (ejection fraction: 55 ± 9 vs. 60 ± 6 vs. 59 ± 5%; mitral lateral S' velocity: 10.7 ± 0.6 vs. 10.6 ± 0.4 vs. 11.0 ± 0.8 cm/s). However, speckle tracking analysis showed a different pattern of myocardial deformation in our groups: while GRS was similar, GLS was decreased in runners, GCS was decreased in bodybuilders compared to the other two groups (GLS: -19.4 ± 3.4 vs. -23.3 ± 2.1 vs. -24.1 ± 3.0; GCS: -26.6 ± 3.8 vs. -22.4 ± 4.3 vs. -26.4 ± 2.7%, p < 0.05). Significant correlations were found in runners between GLS and end-diastolic volume (r = 0.46; p < 0.05), and body surface area (r = 0.49; p < 0.05). In bodybuilders, GCS was closely related to LV mass (r = 0.61; p < 0.01) and systolic blood pressure (r = 0.42; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: While conventional morphological and functional echocardiographic parameters failed to distinguish between the athlete's heart of the two different sport disciplines, deformation parameters showed a different pattern of LV mechanics in runners versus bodybuilders.
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Szauder et al. (2015) conducted a cross-sectional in Athlete's heart (n=53). Endurance training (marathon running) and power training (bodybuilding) vs. Healthy sedentary controls was evaluated on Global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global circumferential strain (GCS) (p=<0.05). Speckle tracking echocardiography revealed distinct left ventricular deformation patterns, with decreased global longitudinal strain in runners (-19.4%) and decreased global circumferential strain in bodybuilders (-22.4%) compared to controls.