High-Intensity Prolonged Endurance Activity Correlation to Abnormal Cardiac Strain as Measured by Speckle Tracking...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Sports Medicine
• Exercise Physiology

Background:

• Endurance running is associated with cardiovascular adaptations.
• The relationship between extreme exercise load and myocardial strain requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if there is a dose-dependent relationship between exercise burden and myocardial strain in endurance runners.
• To compare myocardial strain between extreme-distance runners (ultramarathon/Ironman) and marathon-distance runners.

Main Methods:

• 48 endurance runners were categorized into extreme-distance and marathon-distance groups.
• Myocardial strain imaging (global and regional) was performed.
• Linear regression models analyzed the relationship between running groups and myocardial strain.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in global longitudinal strain was observed between the groups.
• Significant differences in regional myocardial strain were found in the apical lateral and apical septal segments.

Conclusions:

• Extreme endurance athletes show regional myocardial strain differences compared to marathon runners.
• The clinical significance of these regional differences is currently unclear and warrants further study.