Functional and Structural Vascular Remodeling in Elite Rowers Assessed by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
Steffen E. Petersen, MD, DPhil*, ,*,
Frank Wiesmann, MD*, ,
Lucy E. Hudsmith, MA, MRCP*, ,
Matthew D. Robson, PhD*, ,
Jane M. Francis, DCCR, DNM*, ,
Joseph B. Selvanayagam, DPhil, FRACP*, ,
Stefan Neubauer, MD, FRCP*, and
Keith M. Channon, MD, FRCP
* University of Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research, Oxford, United Kingdom
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom

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Figure 1 Magnetic resonance imaging of vascular distensibility and diastolic vessel areas. Vessel wall tracings in diastolic (A, solid ellipse) and systolic (B, dashed ellipse) cine steady-state free precession images in the ascending aorta (AA) and proximal descending aorta (PDA). Diastolic images of distal descending aorta (DDA) (C), right common carotid artery (CCA) (D), and right brachial artery (BA) (E) in a rower. IJV = internal jugular vein; PT = pulmonary trunk; SCM = sternocleidomastoid muscle; SVC = superior vena cava.
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Figure 2 Comparison of diastolic vessel areas between young sedentary control subjects and young elite rowers quantified by magnetic resonance imaging at (A) different sites of the aorta and (B) in the right common carotid artery (CCA) and in the right brachial artery (BA). Two-way analysis of covariance, adjusting for gender as a fixed effect and body surface area as a covariate. Solid bars = sedentary control subjects; open bars = rowers. *p < 0.01; **p < 0.001. Other abbreviations as in Figure 1.
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Figure 3 Comparison of vascular distensibility between young sedentary control subjects and young elite rowers quantified by magnetic resonance imaging at (A) different sites of the aorta, (B) in the right common carotid artery (CCA), and (C) in the right brachial artery (BA). Two-way analysis of covariance, adjusting for gender as a fixed effect and body surface area as a covariate. Solid bars = sedentary control subjects; open bars = rowers. Other abbreviations as in Figure 1.
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Figure 4 Relative cross-sectional area changes induced by (A) hyperemia (flow-mediated dilation [FMD] representing endothelium-dependent relaxation) and by (B) glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) (endothelium-independent relaxation). (C) Ratio of FMD- to GTN-induced dilation. Similar results were obtained for the absolute cross-sectional area changes (data in text), a parameter independent of vessel size. Two-way analysis of covariance, adjusting for gender as a fixed effect and body surface area as a covariate. Solid bars = sedentary control subjects; open bars = rowers. *p < 0.01; **p < 0.001.
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