Cardiac Adaptations And Cardiovascular Response During Graded Exercise In Soccer Players According To Playing Position

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Data available on aerobic soccer demands seem to confirm that the cardiovascular system is heavily taxed during the matches. Previous studies have demonstrated differences in aerobic power during soccer match among different playing positions. Until the moment, little is known about both cardiac adaptations (CA) and cardiovascular responses during graded exercise (CRGE) in elite soccer players according to their playing position. PURPOSE: To investigate differences in: 1) CA and 2) CRGE among defenders (DE), midfield (MF) and forward (F) elite soccer players. METHODS: Forty five elite professional soccer players (age= 23.7 ± 0.6) were divided into three groups: (DE, n= 12); (MF, n= 20); (F, n=13). Cardiac morphology was evaluated by echocardiography and cardiovascular response by a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test with individualized ramp protocols in treadmill. RESULTS: MF players showed both higher left- ventricular mass index and left ventricular end diastolic diameter index when compared with DE and F (120.1 ± 3.0 VS 107.4 ± 3.8 and 106.2 ± 3.7 g/m2, p< 0.05) and (28.5 ± 0.5 VS 25.2 ± 0.2 and 26.3 ± 1.9 mm/m2, p< 0.05, respectively) Moreover, MF players had higher peak oxygen consumption than DE and F (57.7 ± 0.9 VS 51.1 ± 1.8 and 52.0 ± 0.8 ml/kg/min, p< 0.05, respectively).TABLECONCLUSIONS: We showed that MF soccer players had an increased left ventricular chamber size when compared to D and F. Furthermore, MF players performed greater cardiovascular responses during graded exercise than those in a different playing position. These findings suggest that higher aerobic demands during soccer match in midfield players may be associated with an increased cardiac volume overload and consequently, positive cardiovascular adaptations.