title: Left ventricular function during exercise in athletes and in sedentary men.
abstract: Aim of this study was to evaluate left ventricular function during exercise in 10 male elite runners and in 10 sedentary males. End-diastolic (EDV) and end-systolic volume (ESV), left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), early peak transmitral flow velocity (peak E), time-velocity integral of mitral inflow (m-TVI); mitral cross sectional area (m-CSA); mitral stroke volume (SV), and cardiac output (CO) were measured by echo-Doppler. We simultaneously analyzed: VO2max by spirometric method, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) by sphygmomanometer, and heart rate (HR) by ECG. The parameters were measured under basal conditions (level 1), at 50% of maximal aerobic capacity (level 2), at peak of exercise (level 3) and during recovery. Ejection fraction in athletes increased significantly at peak of exercise through Frank-Starling mechanism. Stroke volume and cardiac output increased significantly in athletes at peak of exercise. Left ventricular diastolic function was superior in athletes versus controls: in fact, higher peak E in athletes enhanced early diastolic ventricular filling. Therefore, the athletes showed complex cardiovascular adjustments induced by training, which allowed an higher peak working power, a greater cardiac output, and VO2max when compared with an untrained control population.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Medicine II, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Di Bello
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Santoro
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Talarico
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di Muro
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Caputo
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Giorgi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bertini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giusti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002302:Cardiac Output; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology; D013318:Stroke Volume; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left