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Athlete’s heart

Right and left ventricular mass and function in male endurance athletes and untrained individuals determined by magnetic resonance imaging

J.ürgen Scharhag, MD^*,*, G.ünther Schneider, MD, Axel Urhausen, MD^*, Veneta Rochette^*, Bernhard Kramann, MD and Wilfried Kindermann, MD^*

^* Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine, Saarbrücken, Germany
Clinic of Radiology, Department of Radiodiagnostics, University of Saarland, Saarbrücken, Germany

View larger version (84K): [in a new window]   Figure 1 End-diastolic T1-weighted short-axis slice from an endurance athlete (left) and an untrained control subject (right). Compared with the heart of the control subject, the endurance athlete’s heart is characterized by an enlarged volume and a greater myocardial mass of both ventricles, while the proportions of the left and right heart are the same as in the untrained control subject.

View larger version (24K): [in a new window]   Figure 2 Myocardial mass, myocardial mass index (myocardial mass divided by body surface area) and ratio of left ventricular (LV) to right ventricular (RV) mass (ratio LVM/RVM) in endurance athletes (A) and untrained control subjects (C). Data are expressed as the mean value ± SD. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. ***p < 0.001 (paired t test).

View larger version (24K): [in a new window]   Figure 3 Correlation of left ventricular mass (LVM) and right ventricular mass (RVM) to maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max).

View larger version (26K): [in a new window]   Figure 4 End-diastolic volume, end-diastolic volume index (end-diastolic volume divided by body surface area) and ratio of left ventricular (LV) to right ventricular (RV) end-diastolic volume (EDV) (ratio LV-EDV/RV-EDV) in endurance athletes (A) and untrained control subjects (C). Data are expressed as the mean value ± SD. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. ***p < 0.001 (paired t test).

View larger version (28K): [in a new window]   Figure 5 Stroke volume, ejection fraction (EF), ratio of left ventricular (LV) to right ventricular (RV) stroke volume (ratio stroke volume LV/RV), and ratio of LV-EF to RV-EF (ratio EF LV/RV) in endurance athletes (A) and untrained control subjects (C). Data are expressed as the mean value ± SD. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001 (paired t test).