Mid-term development of the right ventricle in competitive athletes

摘要

Background Long-term intensive training induces physiological, morphological, and functional adaption of the athlete’s heart. Purpose To evaluate the development of athlete’s heart during a mid-term follow-up of competitive athletes using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). Material and Methods Eighteen competitive long-distance runners and triathletes (age 43?±?13 years, 3 women) were prospectively examined in a longitudinal follow-up study 5.05?±?0.6 years after baseline. CMR at 1.5-T was performed for functional and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging. Left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) end-diastolic volume (LVEDV, RVEDV) as well as ejection fraction (LVEF, RVEF), LV myocardial mass (LVMM), and atrial sizes were determined and compared to baseline in matched pairs statistics for paired difference. Results LVEDV (197?±?38?mL vs. 196?±?38?mL, paired difference ?0.9?mL, P ?=?0.7) and LVEF (62?±?7% vs. 62?±?5%, paired difference 0.1%, P ?=?0.9) did not change during the follow-up period, whereas LVMM increased significantly (149?±?31?g vs.164?±?32?g, paired difference 14?g, P ?