Exploratory assessment of right ventricular structure and function during prolonged endurance cycling exercise

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Sports Medicine
• Exercise Physiology

Background:

• Prolonged endurance exercise can lead to reduced right ventricular (RV) function and dilation post-exercise.
• Elevated pulmonary artery pressure and RV afterload during exercise have been suspected causes but not demonstrated.
• This study investigated RV structure, function, and pulmonary artery pressure during and after prolonged cycling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a 6-hour cycling exercise bout on right ventricular (RV) structure and function.
• To measure pulmonary artery pressure and RV afterload during prolonged endurance exercise.
• To identify changes in RV size, systolic, and diastolic function before, during, and after exercise.

Main Methods:

• Eight ultra-endurance athletes participated in the study.
• Echocardiography (2D, Doppler, speckle tracking) was used to assess RV parameters.
• Measurements were taken pre-exercise, during exercise (2, 4, 6 hours), and post-exercise.

Main Results:

• RV functional parameters increased during exercise, but structure and function indices remained unchanged during the bout.
• Pulmonary artery pressures and RV wall stress were not significantly elevated during exercise.
• Post-exercise, RV dilation was observed, along with reduced global strain and diastolic tissue velocity compared to pre-exercise.

Conclusions:

• A 6-hour cycling exercise bout did not alter RV structure or function during the activity.
• Pulmonary artery pressures and RV afterload remained within normal limits throughout exercise.
• Despite no during-exercise changes, post-exercise measurements indicated RV dilation and altered function.