Abnormal left ventricular global strain during exercise-test in young healthy smokers

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Sports Cardiology

Background:

• Cigarette smoking (CS) poses risks to cardiovascular (CV) health, but early functional changes are not well understood.
• Conventional echocardiography detects abnormalities only after structural remodeling, limiting early detection.
• Strain imaging offers a potential solution to identify subtle myocardial function changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate early myocardial deformation abnormalities in young smokers using strain imaging.
• To assess cardiovascular adaptation to exercise in young smokers compared to non-smokers.
• To correlate cigarette smoking intensity and inflammation with cardiac mechanics.

Main Methods:

• Evaluated 50 young smokers and 60 non-smokers undergoing a standardized exercise test.
• Utilized conventional echocardiography and speckle-tracking analysis (2D-STE) for cardiovascular assessment.
• Measured baseline characteristics, inflammatory markers (CRP, fibrinogen, IL-6), and HDL-cholesterol.

Main Results:

• Smokers exhibited lower HDL-cholesterol and higher inflammatory markers (CRP, fibrinogen, IL-6).
• Conventional echocardiography showed no group differences.
• 2D-STE revealed distinct changes in global longitudinal strain (GLS), global circumferential strain (GCS), and twist during exercise in smokers.
• Regression analysis linked CS intensity and inflammation to impaired LV mechanics.

Conclusions:

• Strain imaging (2D-STE) effectively identifies early cardiac mechanical changes during exercise adaptation.
• Findings suggest precocious functional abnormalities in active smokers, preceding structural damage.
• CS and inflammation significantly impact LV mechanics, detectable through advanced imaging techniques.