title: Long-Term Cardiac Remodeling in Elite Athletes: Assessment by Tissue Doppler and Speckle Tracking Echocardiography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Currently, it remains unclear whether there are differences in the long-term physiologic and adaptive changes in an athlete's heart, varying by the type of exercise undertaken. In this study, we used standard and speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) to evaluate the long-term effects of cardiac remodeling, which persisted many years after retiring from professional sports (marathon running and wrestling).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-four marathon runners, 25 wrestlers, and 24 healthy subjects were included in the study. Left ventricular (LV) strain (S) and strain rate (Sr) were evaluated by apical two- (2C), three- (3C), and four-chamber (4C) imaging. Global S and Sr were calculated by averaging the 3 apical views. The participants' mean age was comparable across the 3 groups. Weight, body mass index, LV mass, LV mass index, and relative diastolic wall thickness were higher in wrestlers than the other groups (P < 0.001). Systolic and diastolic functions, evaluated using conventional echocardiography, were comparable among the 3 groups. 2C, 3C, and 4C longitudinal strain (LS), global LS (GLS), and global Sr systolic filling (SrS) values were comparable between the marathon runners and control group; however, GLS, LS-2C, GLSrS, SrS-3C, and SrS-2C values were significantly increased in wrestlers compared with the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Myocardial changes in wrestlers and marathon runners who quit sports after an extensive period were evaluated using standard echocardiographic and STE parameters. Although they had stopped playing active sports more than 10 years earlier, both the structural and functional properties of the heart were maintained in wrestlers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erzurum Education and Research Hospital, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demirelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education and High School, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cemil Tugrulhan
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Sam
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erzurum Education and Research Hospital, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Emrah
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ermis
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erzincan Universty, Erzincan, Turkey.
authors.forename: Husnu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Degirmenci
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education and High School, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ilhan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey.
authors.forename: Arif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arisoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erzurum Education and Research Hospital, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kursat
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erzurum Education and Research Hospital, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Duman
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ziya
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Simsek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D012420:Running; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling / Q000502:physiology*; D014952:Wrestling
keywords: athlete's heart; left ventricular function; tissue and strain Doppler echocardiography