Relationships between sports-specific characteristics of athlete's heart and maximal oxygen uptake.
BACKGROUND
Improvement to maximal oxygen uptake is mainly due to myocardial adaptations brought about by physical training. As a consequence, the athlete's heart echocardiographic modifications associated with these adaptations are already well-known. We studied the relationships between maximal oxygen uptake (ml/min) and resting echocardiographic patterns in three athlete groups.


METHODS
Tumbling (n=16), canoeing (n=12), cycling (n=12) and untrained (n=19) participants performed clinical examination and an echocardiogram. Trained groups performed a maximal graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer with gas exchange analysis.


RESULTS
Sport-specific cardiac hypertrophy was observed. No significant echocardiographic difference was noted between untrained and tumbling participants. Canoeists showed higher end-diastolic thickness of the interventricular septum (P<0.001) and left ventricle mass (P<0.05) than untrained and higher posterior wall thickness (P<0.001) and than untrained and tumbling participants. In comparison between untrained, tumbling and cycling participants, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (P<0.001) and left ventricular mass (P<0.001) was higher in cyclists. In trained subjects studied as a global group, the main linear correlation with maximal oxygen uptake concerned left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (r=0.92; P<0.001), left ventricular mass (r=0.60; P<0.001) and to a lesser extent aortic (r=0.39; P<0.01) and left atrium (r=0.36; P<0.05) diameters and E (r=0.38; P<0.05) and A (r=-0.33; P<0.05) Doppler peak velocities. Each trained group showed specific correlations between echocardiographic parameters and absolute maximal oxygen uptake. No further correlation was noted with left ventricular end-diastolic diameter or left ventricle mass when each group was studied individually.


CONCLUSIONS
In athletes, maximal oxygen uptake is partly linked to some resting echocardiographic parameters. Specific relationships between maximal oxygen uptake and some echocardiographic parameters in relation to the sport practised are also observed.
Barbier
Julie
J
EA 1274 - Laboratory of Physiology and Biomechanics of Muscular Exercise, UFR-APS, University of Rennes 2, France. Julie.barbier@uhb.fr
Lebiller
Emmanuelle
E
Ville
Nathalie
N
Rannou-Bekono
Françoise
F
Carré
François
F
D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000209:etiology; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology*; D016276:Ventricular Function; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology