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Myocardial performance during progressive exercise in athletic adolescent males.
Thomas W Rowland1, Max Garrard, Simon Marwood
1Department of Pediatrics, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, USA. Thomas.rowland@bhs.org
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|August 7, 2009
Summary
Young athletes achieve superior aerobic fitness through cardiovascular system volume expansion, not enhanced ventricular function. This study found no differences in myocardial function between trained athletes and untrained boys during exercise.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Sports Medicine
- Exercise Science
Background:
- Athletic training enhances aerobic fitness, but the specific contribution of cardiac function is not fully understood.
- Adolescent athletes often exhibit superior cardiovascular performance compared to untrained peers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare cardiovascular responses to progressive exercise in trained adolescent athletes and untrained boys.
- To assess ventricular inotropic and relaxation properties using Doppler ultrasound techniques.
Main Methods:
- M-mode echocardiography for cardiac dimensions.
- Doppler ultrasound to estimate stroke volume, systolic function (peak aortic flow velocity, ejection flow rate), and diastolic function (peak E-wave velocity, E' velocity, E/E' ratio).
- Progressive cycle ergometry to assess maximal oxygen uptake (Peak VO2).
Main Results:
- Athletes had significantly greater size-adjusted cardiac dimensions and maximal cardiac index.
- Peak VO2 was significantly higher in athletes (57.4 mL.kg.min) compared to nonathletes (44.4 mL.kg.min).
- No significant differences were found in maximal systolic function (peak aortic velocity, ejection rate) or diastolic function (Emax, adjusted E'max, E/E'max) between groups.
Conclusions:
- Superior aerobic fitness in young athletes is primarily due to cardiovascular system volume expansion.
- Enhanced systolic or diastolic ventricular function does not appear to contribute to the improved aerobic capacity in this cohort.
- Findings are specific to young athletes with limited training duration and may not apply to older or more highly trained individuals.
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