Key result
Sport-specific winter training is linked to distinct LAVI, LV-GLS, and LV mass index profiles.
Why the study?
To evaluate cardiopulmonary exercise test performance and physiological cardiac remodeling across elite winter sports disciplines.
Does sport-specific training lead to differences in cardiac remodeling and CPET performance in elite winter sport athletes?
Observational (n=31)
Yes
Does sport-specific training lead to differences in cardiac remodeling and CPET performance in elite winter sport athletes?
p-value: p=0.0052 for LAVI, 0.0003 for LV-GLS, 0.0078 for LV Mass index
Elite winter sports athletes exhibit sport-specific differences in left heart remodeling and cardiopulmonary performance based on their specific discipline.
Sport-specific remodeling differences in elite winter athletes warrant clinical caution; leaves open causal effects of training on structure or performance.
Nine ski mountaineering (Ski-Mo), ten Nordic-cross country (NCC), and twelve world elite biathlon (Bia) athletes were evaluated for cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) performance and pronounced echocardiographic physiological cardiac remodeling as a primary aim of our descriptive preliminary report. In this context, a multicenter retrospective analysis of two-dimensional echocardiographic data including speckle tracking of the left ventricle (LV-GLS) and CPET performance analysis was performed in 31 elite world winter sports athletes, which were obtained during the annual sports medicine examination between 2020 and 2021. The matched data of the elite winter sports athletes (14 women, 17 male athletes, age: 18–32 years) were compared for different CPET and echocardiographic parameters, anthropometric data, and sport-specific training schedules. Significant differences could be revealed for left atrial (LA) remodeling by LA volume index (LAVI, p = 0.0052), LV-GLS (p = 0.0003), and LV mass index (LV Mass index, p = 0.0078) between the participating disciplines. All participating athletes showed excellent performance data in the CPET analyses, whereby significant differences were revealed for highest maximum respiratory minute volume (VE maximum) and the maximum oxygen pulse level across the participating athletes. This study on sport specific physiological demands in elite winter sport athletes provides new evidence that significant differences in CPET and cardiac remodeling of the left heart can be identified based on the individual athlete’s training schedule, frequency, and physique.
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Zimmermann et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Elite winter sports athletes (n=31). Sport-specific training disciplines vs. Between disciplines was evaluated on Echocardiographic physiological cardiac remodeling (LAVI, LV-GLS, LV Mass index) and CPET performance (p=0.0052 for LAVI, 0.0003 for LV-GLS, 0.0078 for LV Mass index). Sport-specific training disciplines in elite winter athletes showed significant differences in left atrial volume index (P=0.0052), LV-GLS (P=0.0003), and LV mass index (P=0.0078).
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