Conditioning Program Prescribed from the External Training Load Corresponding to the Lactate Threshold Improved...

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Cardiology
• Canine Sports Medicine
• Cardiovascular Physiology

Background:

• Systolic and diastolic function changes in athletic dogs are not fully understood.
• Endurance training programs (ETP) can impact cardiac function.
• Lactate threshold (VLT) velocity is a key metric for prescribing training intensity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of an endurance training program on systolic and diastolic cardiac functions in Beagle dogs.
• To evaluate echocardiographic changes associated with ETP.
• To determine if training prescribed by lactate threshold velocity improves myocardial function.

Main Methods:

• Eighteen Beagle dogs were divided into control and trained groups.
• The trained group underwent an 8-week ETP at 70-80% of VLT velocity.
• Echocardiography (2D, M-mode, Doppler, 2D speckle tracking) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used for evaluation before and after training.

Main Results:

• ETP significantly improved left ventricular internal dimension at end diastole (LVDd) and the LVDd:Ao ratio.
• Strain rate indices, reflecting myocardial function, were also enhanced.
• PCA effectively captured echocardiographic alterations induced by ETP.

Conclusions:

• Lactate threshold-based endurance training positively impacts both diastolic and systolic cardiac functions in dogs.
• These improvements suggest potential benefits for myocardial health and injury mitigation.
• Echocardiography and PCA are valuable tools for assessing training-induced cardiac adaptations.