The Relationship of Left Ventricular to Femoral Artery Structure in Male Athletes

PURPOSE: In humans, cardiac morphological adaptations to athletic training have been exhaustively described, while the existence of morphologic (adaptive) changes in the peripheral vessels are less well known. Therefore, the scope of the present study was 1) to assess the existence of morphologic changes in the peripheral vessels, such as the common femoral artery (CFA), in athletes engaged in different types of sports; and 2) to assess the relationship existing between the cardiac and CFA changes in highly endurance- ( N = 16) and strength-trained athletes ( N = 15), and in sedentary controls ( N = 20). METHODS: The cross-sectional diameters of the left ventricular (LV) posterior wall and cavity and CFA diameter and intima-media thickness were determined by M-mode echocardiography and ultrasound, respectively. RESULTS: CFA intima-media thickness in the endurance-trained (0.33 +/- 0.03 mm.m(-2) ) was similar to the strength-trained athletes (0.34 +/- 0.05 mm.m(-2) ) and both greater (P < 0.01) compared with the controls (0.27 +/- 0.03 mm.m(-2) ). CFA diameter in endurance-trained athletes (5.6 +/- 0.6 mm.m(-2) ) was highest among groups (strength-trained athletes 4.2 +/- 0.4 mm.m(-2), controls 4.2 +/- 0.5 mm.m(-2) ). Thus, the relative CFA wall thickness (2.intima-media thickness/CFA diameter) was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the strength-trained (0.16 +/- 0.02) than in the endurance-trained athletes (0.13 +/- 0.02) and the controls (0.13 +/- 0.02), respectively. The relative LV posterior wall thickness (2.LV posterior wall thickness/LV diameter) was not significantly different among the groups. LV posterior wall thickness was significantly related to CFA intima-media thickness (r = 0.31, P < 0.05) and LV diameter to CFA diameter (r = 0.55, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The study shows a physiological relationship between the LV and CFA wall and cavity dimensions in endurance-trained athletes and controls, respectively. The greater relative wall thickness of the strength-trained athletes may be related to different influencing factors, e.g., increased blood pressure.