Abstract
Endurance running is an exercise practiced by athletes in many sports. Being benefi cial to health, it is also under-taken by a great number of non-athletic individuals. Rigorous endurance training frequently induces symmetric (i. e. both ventricular chamber dilation and wall thickening) myocardial hypertrophy, which is a physiological adapta-tion. Although distance running is a sport associated with haemodynamic volume rather than pressure overload, in addition to enlarged cardiac output, systolic arterial blood pressure also considerably increases during running. The extent of the cardiac hypertrophy was shown to be correlated with peak blood pressure measured during laboratory exercise. However, the predominant type of myocardial hypertrophy (the ratio between the myocardial wall thickness and chamber size) in endurance runners remains contradictory, and the majority of the responsible factors are still to be determined. The aim of this study was to determine possible correlations between post-run systolic blood pressure and myocardial hypertrophy in endurance runners.Standard transthoracic two-dimensional M-mode echocardiography was performed in white adult male distance runners (n = 49) of national level within four weeks of treadmill testing, which was a non-continuous incremental exercise test employed for the determination of the heart rate as well as post-exertional systolic blood pressure re-sponse. Runners’ training volume (evaluated as the average number of hours per week spent training averaged over the past four weeks) correlated (p < 0.05) positively with the left ventricular (LV) wall thickness but not with the cavity size or LV mass (p > 0.05). Training volume also positively correlated with systolic blood pressure response to exercise (p < 0.05), but negatively with submaximal exercise heart rate (p < 0.01). Post-run systolic blood pressure correlated positively with LV wall thickness and LV concentricity (namely, the ratio between the myocardial wall thick-ness and chamber size) (p < 0.05), but no signifi cant correlation of any of the LV size parameters with resting heart rate, blood pressure, or systolic blood pressure in 2 to 4 min during the recovery period was revealed. Submaximal and maximal heart rate correlated signifi cantly and negatively with LV wall thickness, LV mass, and systolic blood pressure measured immediately after running (p < 0.05).Training volume and post-run systolic blood pressure have been found to correlate positively with LV wall thickness and concentricity in white adult male distance runners. Negative correlation of exercise heart rate has been found with the post-exercise systolic blood pressure, LV wall thickness, and LV mass.Keywords: myocardial hypertrophy, pressure overload, echocardiography, athlete’s heart.
Highlights
In contrast to the majority of other mammals, humans are naturally equipped for endurance running (Bramble, Lieberman, 2004)
In addition to both increased heart rate and INTERRELATION BETWEEN EXERCISE HEART RATE, POST-RUN SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE, AND MYOCARDIAL STRUCTURE IN DISTANCE RUNNERS 57 systolic volume, systolic blood pressure (SBP) considerably increases during running, and large fluctuations of pulse pressure are observed, and the extent of the cardiac hypertrophy was shown to correlate with peak blood pressure measured during laboratory exercise (Palatini et al, 1989)
While competitive distance runners in response to their training are believed to develop symmetrical (i. e. both cardiac dilation and wall thickening of similar degree) or even eccentric (Pluim et al, 2000) (i. e. more pronounced chamber dilation rather than wall thickening (Haykowsky et al, 2002)) physiological cardiac hypertrophy, the concentric myocardial hypertrophy has been reported in professional endurance athletes who practice running as a sizeable component of their training and competition (Karjalainen et al, 1997; Palazzuoli et al, 2002; Venckunas et al, 2006)
Summary
In contrast to the majority of other mammals, humans are naturally equipped for endurance running (Bramble, Lieberman, 2004). Distance running is a classical endurance exercise practiced by athletes of many sport disciplines. E. more pronounced chamber dilation rather than wall thickening (Haykowsky et al, 2002)) physiological cardiac hypertrophy, the concentric myocardial hypertrophy has been reported in professional endurance athletes who practice running as a sizeable component of their training and competition (Karjalainen et al, 1997; Palazzuoli et al, 2002; Venckunas et al, 2006). The predominant type of myocardial hypertrophy in endurance runners remains clearly contradictory, as many authors have reported more pronounced chamber dilation as compared with wall thickening in these athletes (Morganroth et al, 1975; D’Andrea et al, 2002; Nagashima et al, 2003). There is even less understanding of the mechanisms involved in and the factors responsible for the development of the structural adaptation due to athletic conditioning (Kasikcioglu et al, 2005)
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