Differences in Cardiac Structure Induced by Long-term Intermittent Exercise in Elite Professional Soccer Players

Abstract

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in athlete's heart is intermediate between concentric and eccentric, a fact partially determined by the specificity of the sport modality. Soccer matches is characterized by periods of high- and low-intensity activity and the effect of this long-term intermittent exercise in athlete's cardiac structure is highly variable. PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence of long-term intermittent exercise-induced eccentric or concentric LVH in Brazilian professional soccer players. METHODS: In the course of 36 months, 231 soccer players (age= 21.8 ± 0.2 years; body weight= 75.0 ± 0.5 kg) representing the Corinthians team were included in this study. Doppler-echocardiography was used to assess athlete's heart at rest and also for the differentiation of concentric LVH (ventricular mass index (VMI) > 134 g/m2 and relative wall thickness (RWT) > 0.45) and eccentric LVH (VMI > 134 g/m2 and RWT < 0.45). RESULTS: Four athletes (1.7%) showed concentric LVH (VMI=143.6±3.0; RWT=0.45±0.0) and 24 athletes (10.4%) showed eccentric LVH (VMI=143.5±1.6; RWT=0.36±0.0). The 203 athletes remained (87.9%) did not reach values that characterized concentric and eccentric LVH (VMI=109.1±1.1; RWT=0.35±0.0). VMI was significantly higher in both concentric and eccentric athletes compared to that did not reach LVH (p=0.001) and RWT was significantly higher in concentric athletes compared to the other athletes (p=0.001). In addition, ejection fraction was similar among the groups of athletes (p=0.60). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed lower prevalence to both concentric and eccentric LVH and preserved cardiac contractility and function with the predominance of eccentric LVH. LV quantitative analysis did not exceed normal limits or extend into the borderline gray zone in any Brazilian professional soccer players, which characterized physiological adaptation.