Importance of the athlete's heart has been arisen in the last decades.

Consequences of the sedentary way of life are the most threatening through the impairments of the cardiovascular system. Endurance performance is mostly limited by the characteristics of the athlete's heart. Sudden death of the athletes is always associated with cardiac disorders.

The main morphologic characteristics are the physiologic left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and a richer coronary capillary network. The functional adaptation contains a better systolic and diastolic function, modified metabolism and electric characteristics. The most easily detected modification is the better LV diastolic function. Adaptation of the cardiac regulation is manifested mostly by a lower heart rate (HR).

In our previous review characteristics of the athlete's heart were divided into three groups: morphologic (left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, improved coronary circulation), functional (better diastolic function) and regulatory (lower heart rate (HR)) features. In the present review, the influences of the types of sports and the age on the athlete's heart are discussed. Studies using echocardiographic, Doppler-echocardiographic, tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results are mostly involved. The coronary circulation was investigated overwhelmingly in animal experiments. In the LV hypertrophy a major contributor is the increase of the LV wall thickness (WT) than that of the LV internal diameter (ID). A right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy can also be seen in athletes. Athletic features are induced mostly by endurance training. Approximately two years regular physical training is needed to develop characteristics of the athlete's heart, hence, in the young children they are less marked. LV hypertrophy and lower HR are characteristic in young and adult athletes, but they are less marked in older ones. A richer coronary capillary network can develop mostly at a young age.

Characteristics of the athlete's heart have been investigated mostly in the left ventricle (LV); reports referring to the right ventricle (RV) have only appeared recently. The aim of the present study was to compare the training effects on RV and LV in elite male endurance athletes. To this end, echocardiography was conducted in 52 elite endurance athletes (A) and in 25 non-athletes (NA). Differences between A and NA in the morphology was more marked in the RV (body-size-matched (rel.)) long axis diastolic diameter (RVLADd): 63.4 ± 6.3 vs. 56.4 ± 6.3; rel. short axis diastolic diameter (RVSADd): 27.3 ± 3.6 vs. 23.6 ± 2.7 mm/m, RV diastolic area 28 ± 5.0 vs. 21.3 ± 4.3 cm 2 in all cases, p < 0.001) than in the LV (rel. LVLADd: 63.8 mm/m ± 5.6 vs. 60.7 mm/m ± 6.6, p < 0.05, rel.LVSADd 37.8 ± 3.1 vs. 35.3 ± 2.4, no difference). In the athletes ratios of peak early to late diastolic filling velocity (2.07 ± 0.51 vs. 1.75 ± 0.36, p < 0.01), the TDI-determined E'/A' ratio in the septal (1.89 ± 0.55 vs. 1.62 ± 0.55, p < 0.05) and lateral (2.62 ± 0.72, vs. 2.18 ± 0.87, p < 0.001) walls were significantly higher than in NA only in the LV. Results indicate that in male endurance athletes morphologic adaptation is similar or slightly stronger in the RV than in the LV, functional adaptation seems to be stronger in the LV.

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The effect of malathion on rats (75 and 38 mg/kg bwt), aquatic organisms (100 to 0.001 mg/L), and cells in tissue culture (1000 to 1 ppm) was studied. The conventional toxicological tests conducted for 90 days on rats yielded negative results. ChE activity was determined in plasma, liver, brain and erythrocyte samples. It was significantly reduced in the erythrocytes of animals treated with the larger dose for 21 days and in the cerebral cortex of rats fed either of the doses. ChE activity of rats consuming malathion for 90 days did not differ significantly from that of the controls. In contrast, the psychophysiological examinations utilized in the experiments indicated abnormalities within 21 days. Alterations were observed in the EEG and EMG records after 90 days of feeding. Malathion had a definitely harmful effect on phylogenetically and ontogenetically young aquatic organisms, as well as on the cells of monkey kidney culture. The latter finding suggests that the preparation has a direct destructive effect on cells. Although it is not suggested that malathion should be regarded a toxic agent thus requiring limitation of application, attention is directed to the fact that inconsiderate use of the preparation may involve potential dangers for man and his environment.

In the authors' earlier study the relative aerobic power of Hungarian top-level male water polo players was found to be smaller than that of other top-level athletes, while their echocardiographic parameters proved to be the most characteristic of the athlete's heart. In the present investigation echocardiographic and spiroergometric data of female top-level water polo players were compared to those of other female elite athletes and of healthy, non-athletic subjects. Relative aerobic power in the water polo players was lower than in endurance athletes. Mean resting heart rates were the slowest in the water polo players and endurance athletes. Morphologic indicators of the heart (body size related left ventricular wall thickness and muscle mass) were the highest in the water polo players, endurance and power athletes. In respect of diastolic functions (diastolic early and late peak transmitral flow velocities) no difference was seen between the respective groups.These results indicate that, similarly to the males, top-level water polo training is associated with the dimensional parameters of the heart rather than with relative aerobic power. For checking the physical condition of female water polo players spiroergometric tests seem to be less appropriate than swim-tests with heart rate recovery studies such as the ones used in the males.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different sport activities on cardiac adaptation. Echocardiographic data of 137 athletes and 21 non-athletes were measured and compared in two age groups 15-16 and 17-18 years of age. Athletes belonged into three groups according to their sports activity (endurance events, power athletes, ball game players). The observed variables were related to body size by indices in which the exponents of the numerator and the denominator were matched. Left ventricular hypertrophy was manifest in all athletic groups. Power athletes had the largest mean left ventricular wall thickness (LVWTd) in both age groups. In the older age group differences between the athletic groups were smaller, but the endurance and power athletes had significantly higher wall thickness. Left ventricular internal diameter (LVIDd) was the largest in the endurance athletes, while mean relative muscle mass (LVMM) was the largest in the power athletes. LVMM of the older endurance athletes was significantly larger. Muscular quotient (MQ) was the highest in the endurance athletes; in the 17-18-year group there was no inter-event difference. Bradycardia was most manifest in the endurance athletes and ball game players, power athletes had higher resting heart rates than non-athletic subjects. It can be inferred that endurance training induces firstly an enlargement of the left ventricle what is then followed by an increase of muscle mass. In the studied functional and regulatory parameters no difference was found between the athletic and non-athletic groups.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for more than half of all deaths in the European region. The aim of the study was to compare body composition, blood pressure, total cholesterol (TC) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), family history, activity behaviors, and the 10-year risk of having a heart attack between 166 university students (21.62 ± 2.59 yrs) from Utah (USA) and 198 students (22.11 ± 2.51 yrs) from Hungary. Ninetytwo percent of the Hungarian students and 100% of the Utah students had an estimated 10-year Framingham risk score of 1% or less. The high prevalence of low risk was primarily due to the young age of study participants, healthy body composition and non-smoking behavior. Hungarians who had higher 10-year risk of heart attack had significantly higher waist hip ratio (WHR), TC, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and were smokers compared to those Hungarians with lower risk. The self-reported physical activity levels between the two groups of students were not different. In conclusion the young men and women who participated in this study were, for the most part healthy; however the smoking habits and the lower physical activity of the Hungarian students likely elevated their risk of CVD.Keywords: cardiovascular risk, university students, smoking, body mass index, blood lipids Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the major causes of mortality in economically developed countries as well as in transitional economies. There is also a trend towards an increasing prevalence of CVD in developing countries (14). Healthy lifestyles, such as eating a prudent diet, regular physical activity, and not smoking are the most important preventive measures. Good health-related habits are learned early in life and have been associated with parental and peer group influences, and are strongly associated with socio-economic status and education (1,8). Cardiovascular risk prediction calculations use biological characteristics (age, gender) and modifiable risk factors (blood pressure, lipid levels, and lifestyle conditions) to assess and predict CVD risk. Although the sensitivity and specificity of the risk assessment tools are low in young adults, especially at younger ages where they sometimes underestimate the risk, such tools are useful in screening young adults for increased risk of CVD (11). The socio-economic background of CVD has found that males between 20 and 64 years of age in semi-and unskilled occupations have a risk of premature death from CVD that is three times higher than those working in professional and managerial positions. According to Karlamangla et al. (6) individuals with high overall cardiovascular risk in midlife can be identified by their relatively higher values of risk factors in younger ages and that socio-economic differences