EVALUATION OF LEFT VENTRICULAR TEI  INDEX BY DOPPLER ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY IN ELITE ATHLETES

Abstract

Background: The literature has recorded ECG changes, cardiac morphology in athletes is known by the term “athlete heart syndrome” with normal heart function. Tei Chuwa devised and published in1995 an index of myocardial performance (the Tei index) that evaluates the LV systolic and diastolic function in combination. To contribute to the assessment of cardiac function athletes in Vietnam, besides conventional Tei index, we further evaluated left ventricular tissue Doppler Tei indexes with the following objectives: identify conventional Doppler Tei index and tissue Doppler Tei indexes in professional athletes, compared with a control group and find the correlation between the Tei index with left ventricular morphology among athletes. Material and Methods: Left ventricular morphology, conventional Doppler Tei index and tissue Doppler Tei indexes in 90 athletes and 90 non-athlete controls were evaluated by Doppler echocardiography. Results: there were no significant differences between the athletes and the control subjects with respect to conventional Doppler Tei index and tissue Doppler Tei indexes (lateral, septal). Morphological parameters were significantly greater in athletes than in controls: left atrial diameter (28.57 ± 4.05 vs 26.94 ± 4.84), LVDd (46.44 ± 4.20 vs 44.01 ± 4.86), IVSd (9.34 ± 1.31 vs 24.94 ± 3.76), LVPWd (8.31 ± 1.54 vs 7.93 ± 1.49), LVMI (85.12 ± 15.86 vs 70.59 ± 14.52), p<0.01, p<0.05. Tei index didn’t have correlation with LADd, left atrial diameter. The left ventricular mass correlated weakly with conventional Doppler Tei index. Conclusion: The athletes had left ventricular structural changes, compared to controls. Heart function was evaluated by Tei index showed normal in athletes. Keywords: Athlete’s heart, Doppler echocardiography, Tei index.