Heart Size and Function of Soldiers, Athletes, and Sedentary Men

Abstract

This study compares the heart sizes and left ventricular masses of soldiers (n = 11) with age- and body size-matched groups of sedentary men (n = 10) and accomplished athletes (n = 11). Echocardiography revealed that active duty soldiers (A) who met minimal fitness standards and pentathletes (P) had greater average left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic volumes (A = 10%, NS; P = 28%, p less than 0.05), stroke volumes (A = 29%, NS; P = 44%, p less than 0.01), and LV masses (A = 22%, NS; P = 76%, p less than 0.01) than sedentary subjects. Athletes had an average LV wall thickness which was 23% (p less than 0.05) greater than that of soldiers and 32% (p less than 0.01) greater than that of sedentary men. The LV wall thickness to radius ratio (h/r) was similar between soldiers and sedentary men, but in athletes the h/r was greater (p less than 0.01) than in the less conditioned subjects. These data suggest that soldiers who meet minimal standards of fitness exhibit cardiac morphometric features consistent with endurance conditioning. However, the soldiers studied were significantly less (p less than 0.001) conditioned than the competitive athletes. These data suggest that improvements in aerobic and cardiac conditioning could be achieved through a greater emphasis on physical training.

The Athlete's Heart

“…et al. 1990;Sadaniantz & Thompson 1990;Holly et al 1998). Atrioventricular (AV) and nodoventricular accessory pathways have been suggested as culprits in some cases of exercise-related SCD (Corrado et al.…”

“…This may simply reflect the popularity of the sport (Northcote & Ballantyne 1985;Corrado et al 1990;Sadaniantz & Thompson 1990;Holly et al 1998). The sudden bursts of isometric activity seen with squash may provoke SCD if the individual has a severe cardiac pathology, yet the pressor response to this sport is similar to cycle ergometry (Brigdgen et al 1992).…”

“…The abnormalities identified include magnesium ion (Mg) deficiency (Eisenberg 1992;Rowe 1993). hyperlipidaemia and hyperglycaemia Conduction abnormalities A number of ECG syndromes are associated with the sudden death of athletes, including the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and Lown-Ganong-Levine syndrome (Sadaniantz & Thompson 1990;Holly et al 1998). Isolated conduction abnormalities may be a 'concealed' cause of death in young athletes with normal histology, because the conduction systems are rarely examined thoroughly (Corrado (Stendig-Lindberg 1992).…”