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Left Atrium Size in Elite Athletes.
Aline Iskandar1, Mohammad Tokir Mujtaba2, Paul D Thompson3
1Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts.
JACC. Cardiovascular Imaging
|June 22, 2015
Summary
Elite athletes exhibit larger left atrial (LA) dimensions compared to sedentary individuals, with endurance athletes showing the most significant increases. This finding is crucial for physicians assessing athletes' cardiac health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Sports Medicine
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- The "athlete's heart" describes cardiac adaptations to regular exercise.
- Left atrial (LA) enlargement can be one such adaptation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a meta-analysis investigating the relationship between high-level exercise training and left atrial (LA) size.
- To synthesize findings from published literature on LA dimensions in elite athletes.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of English-language studies from MEDLINE and Scopus.
- Inclusion of studies reporting LA size in elite athletes and controls.
- Analysis of data from 54 studies involving 7,189 elite athletes and 1,375 controls.
Main Results:
- Elite athletes demonstrated significantly larger LA diameter (4.1 mm greater) and LA volume index (7.0 ml/m² greater) compared to controls.
- Endurance-trained athletes showed the largest increase in LA diameter (4.6 mm greater).
- Strength-trained and combined-trained athletes also exhibited significantly larger LA dimensions.
Conclusions:
- This meta-analysis confirms that elite athletes have larger LA dimensions than controls.
- LA enlargement is observed in both endurance and strength-trained athletes.
- Physicians should consider these physiological adaptations when evaluating athletes' cardiac status.
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