CHANGES IN CARDIOVASCULAR AND RESPIRATORY SYSTEMS IN YOUNG ATHLETES

Abstract

Changes in cardiorespiratory complex of adult athletes are the subject of scientific researches. However, there is a lack of researches that would assess such changes in children and adolescents involved in intensive physical training. The purpose of the study was to evaluate functional and morphological changes of cardiovascular and respiratory systems in boys of primary school age engaged in football. Materials and methods. 109 male children aged 10-11 years were enrolled in the study, among which 81 children have been attending sports football schools, 28 children didn’t have regular physical activity. The study design included a general clinical examination, a spirometry, the condition of cardiovascular system was assessed with echocardiography, and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Results. The boys 10-11 years of age who play sports have higher values of minute respiratory volume and cardiac indices, which may support the hypothesis of the myocardial hypertrophy development, although they correspond to normal Z-score values. According to ABPM results the duration of physical activity may influence on transition from vasodilation to vasoconstriction. Conclusions. We obtained statistically significant quantitative differences in the functional state of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems in children-athletes. The changes found in young athletes may result to further supervision of a pediatric cardiologist, but decision should be made individually.