Related Experiment Videos
[Left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive and athlete's hearts: echocardiographic and vectorcardiographic
Insights
Athlete's heart and hypertensive heart exhibit distinct left ventricular hypertrophy patterns. Vectorcardiography and echocardiography reveal differences in QRS loop vectors and wall thickness, differentiating athletic adaptations from disease-related changes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Physiology
- Medical Imaging
Context:
- Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) presents differently in athletes versus hypertensive individuals.
- Differentiating these patterns is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management.
- Vectorcardiography and echocardiography are key diagnostic tools.
Purpose:
- To investigate and compare the vectorcardiographic and echocardiographic patterns of LVH in athletes (Judo players) and hypertensive patients.
- To classify LVH patterns based on QRS loop vectors and echocardiographic measurements.
- To identify specific markers differentiating athlete's heart from hypertensive heart.
Summary:
- The study classified subjects into Type I and Type II LVH based on QRS loop patterns.
- Athlete's heart (Ath-I) showed increased initial QRS vector amplitude (right/anterior) linked to increased interventricular septum thickness (IVSTd).
- Hypertensive heart (HT-I) showed altered QRS vectors without significant wall thickening, while Type II showed symmetrical thickening in both groups.
- Correlation between spatial maximum QRS magnitude and left ventricular mass (LV mass) was significant only in hypertensive heart Type II (HT-II).
Impact:
- Findings highlight distinct pathophysiological mechanisms underlying LVH in athletes and hypertensive individuals.
- Provides insights into using vectorcardiography and echocardiography for differential diagnosis of cardiac conditions.
- Contributes to a better understanding of cardiac remodeling in response to different stimuli.
Abstract:
The difference in the patterns of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) between the athlete's heart (Judo player: Judo-Ath group) and the hypertensive heart (HT group) was studied using vectorcardiography and echocardiography. The both groups were classified into two types based on the pattern of a QRS loop vector in the horizontal plane, respectively. One type (type II) satisfied the vectorcardiographic criteria of LVH by Upshaw, and the other (type I) did not satisfy it. The subjects composed of 12 Ath-I, 18 Ath-II, 10 HT-I and 16 HT-II. In the Ath-I, the characteristic vectorcardiogram was demonstrated in the horizontal plane, where an increased amplitude of an initial QRS vector was in the right and anterior direction. A mean ratio of the thickness of the interventricular septum to left ventricular posterior wall (IVSTd/PWTd) was 1.20 (p less than 0.001) in their echocardiograms. In HT-I, on the other hand, a decreased amplitude of an initial anterior vector and an increased amplitude of a posterior vector were observed in the horizontal plane. IVSTd and PWTd did not increase in these patients. These results indicated that an increased amplitude of an initial QRS vector in Ath-I is a reflection of the increased IVSTd. In type II, both IVSTd and PWTd were symmetrically increased. Concerning a spatial maximum QRS magnitude and left ventricular mass (LV mass), there was a significant correlation between the two only in HT-II (r = 0.75, p less than 0.01). It was concluded that there was some vectorcardiographic and echocardiographic differences between the left ventricular hypertrophic patterns of the athlete's heart and the hypertensive heart.