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Data about the functional adaptation of the right ventricle (RV) to intense exercise are limited. Our aim was to characterize the RV mechanical pattern in top-level athletes using three-dimensional echocardiography. A total of 60 elite water polo athletes (19 ± 4 yr, 17 ± 6 h of training/wk, 50% women and 50% men) and 40 healthy sedentary control subjects were enrolled. We measured the RV end-diastolic volume index (RVEDVi) and ejection fraction (RVEF) using dedicated software. Furthermore, we determined RV global longitudinal (RV GLS) and circumferential strain (RV GCS) and the relative contribution of longitudinal ejection fraction (LEF) and radial ejection fraction (REF) to RVEF using the ReVISION method. Athletes also underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing [O2 consumption (V̇o2)/kg]. Athletes had significantly higher RVEDVi compared with control subjects (athletes vs. control subjects, 88 ± 11 vs. 65 ± 10 ml/m2, P < 0.001); however, they also demonstrated lower RVEF (56 ± 4% vs. 61 ± 5%, P < 0.001). RV GLS was comparable between the two groups (−22 ± 5% vs. −23 ± 5%, P = 0.24), whereas RV GCS was significantly lower in athletes (−21 ± 4% vs. −26 ± 7%, P < 0.001). Athletes had higher LEF and lower REF contribution to RVEF (LEF/RVEF: 0.50 ± 0.07 vs. 0.42 ± 0.07, P < 0.001; REF/RVEF: 0.33 ± 0.08 vs. 0.45 ± 0.08, P < 0.001). Moreover, the pattern of RV functional shift correlated with V̇o2/kg (LEF/RVEF: r = 0.30, P < 0.05; REF/RVEF: r = −0.27, P < 0.05). RV mechanical adaptation to long-term intense exercise implies a functional shift; the relative contribution of longitudinal motion to global function was increased, whereas the radial shortening was significantly decreased, in athletes. Moreover, this functional pattern correlates with aerobic exercise performance, representing a potential new resting marker of an athlete’s heart. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Intensive regular physical exercise results in significant changes of right ventricular morphology and function. By separate quantification of the right ventricular longitudinal and radial function, a relative dominance of longitudinal motion and a decrease in radial motion can be observed compared with sedentary controls. Moreover, this contraction pattern correlates with cardiopulmonary fitness. According to these results, this functional shift of the right ventricle may represent a novel marker of an athlete’s heart.

PURPOSE. To analyze multifocal ERGs (mfERGs) in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), with constricted visual fields and visual acuity satisfactory for steady fixation. METHODS. The mfERGs of 86 eyes of 43 patients with various forms of inheritance and durations of RP were analyzed. A retinal scanning system with a 20-in. monitor was used to map central cone function. Electrical signals of the retina were detected by using DTL fiber electrodes. RESULTS. The site of the best response density of the mfERGs in the patients with RP was found in a central or eccentric position of the trace array. Depending on the position of the best response density in the two eyes, the patients were categorized into three groups. In the first group, the best response density was recorded from the central hexagon in both eyes, producing a central peak surrounded by very low responses in the three-dimensional presentation. In the second group of patients, the best responses were found to correspond to the central hexagon on only one side. In the fellow eye, however, the best response density appeared to be in an eccentric position. The patients in the third group did not present a central peak in the mfERG on either side. In scattered parts of the trace arrays, several acceptable responses were observed in all three groups that might represent patches of functioning retinal cone receptors. CONCLUSIONS. The results suggest highly variable central responses and groups of cones with preserved function in areas previously considered nonresponsive. The high variability of the central responses could be a result of variable foveal cone density, with differences in inheritance- and duration-related cone degeneration at the time of the examination. The authors stress the value of step-by-step analysis of the trace array of the mfERGs, which can reveal the still-functioning groups of cones. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007;48:383‐389) DOI