Key result
Higher peak VO2 is associated with greater LV index in professional male handball players.
Why the study?
ECG and echocardiography data and their relationship to fitness in top handball players have never been described, complicating differentiation between normal adaptation and cardiomyopathies.
Cross-Sectional (n=291)
Effect estimate: r=0.341
p-value: p=<0.001
Top male handball players exhibit specific cardiac adaptations including increased LV mass and a correlation between peak oxygen uptake and LV index, highlighting the need for sport-specific normal values in athlete screening.
Normative ECG/echo data in elite handball players may aid screening; leaves open prospective validation in power athletes.
The key challenge in athlete's screening is the distinction between abnormal and normal which is hindered by the fact that the adaptation to sports activity in endurance athletes is different to that in power athletes. Especially cardiomyopathies provoke changes in ECG and echocardiography (echo) at an early stage when clinical symptoms are absent. ECG and echo data and their relationship to fitness peculiar to top handball players have never been described. We studied 291 male first league handball players (32 Olympians/47 national players) (25.3±4.4 years). Check up consisted of ECG, spiroergometry and echocardiography. None had T-wave inversions, 3.1% showed early repolarisation abnormalities in the precordial leads. Sokolow-Lyon voltage criterion for left ventricular hypertrophy was positive in 19.3%. Spiroergometry showed a maximum oxygen uptake (peakVO₂) of 50.3±7.7 ml/min/kg body weight. LVmass was increased in comparison to normal values. There was a correlation between peakVO₂ and LVindex (p<0.001, r=0.341), (LVmass/peak VO₂ p=0.053, r=0.125). A relationship between cardiac dimensions and peakVO₂ could not be confirmed. In professional handball players early repolarisation abnormalities were less frequent and LVmass was increased when compared with soccer players. The need for normal values for different types of sports is crucial to guarantee a proper evaluation of athletes.
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Buuren et al. (2012) conducted a cross-sectional in Top handball athletes (n=291). Professional handball training vs. Normal values was evaluated on Correlation between peak oxygen uptake (peakVO₂) and left ventricular index (LVindex) (r=0.341, p=<0.001). In professional male handball players, peak oxygen uptake significantly correlated with left ventricular index (r=0.341, p<0.001), and early repolarisation abnormalities were seen in 3.1%.
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