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BACKGROUND Center-based cardiac rehabilitation programs (CRPs) reduce morbidity and mortality after an ischemic cardiac event; however, they are widely underused. Home-based CRP has emerged as an alternative to improve patient adherence; however, its safety and efficacy remain unclear, especially for older patients and female patients. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to develop a holistic home-based CRP for patients with ischemic heart disease and evaluate its safety and impact on functional capacity, adherence to a healthy lifestyle, and quality of life. METHODS The 8-week home-based CRP included patients of both sexes, with no age limit, who had overcome an acute myocardial infarction in the previous 3 months, had a left ventricular ejection fraction of ≥40%, and had access to a tablet or mobile device. The CRP was developed using a dedicated platform designed explicitly for this purpose and included 3 weekly exercise sessions combining tailored aerobic and strength training and 2 weekly educational session focused on lifestyle habits, therapeutic adherence, and patient empowerment. RESULTS We initially included 62 patients, of whom 1 was excluded for presenting with ventricular arrhythmias during the initial stress test, 5 were excluded because of incompatibility, and 6 dropped out because of a technological barrier. Ultimately, 50 patients completed the program: 85% (42/50) were male, with a mean age of 58.9 (SD 10.3) years, a mean left ventricular ejection fraction of 52.1% (SD 6.72%), and 25 (50%) New York Heart Association functional class I and 25 (50%) New York Heart Association II-III. The CRP significantly improved functional capacity (+1.6 metabolic equivalent tasks), muscle strength (arm curl test +15.5% and sit-to-stand test +19.7%), weekly training volume (+803 metabolic equivalent tasks), adherence to the Mediterranean diet, emotional state (anxiety), and quality of life. No major complications occurred, and adherence was excellent (>80%) in both the exercise and educational sessions. In the subgroup analysis, CRP showed equivalent beneficial effects irrespective of sex and age. In addition, patient preferences for CRP approaches were equally distributed, with one-third (14/50, 29%) of the patients preferring a face-to-face CRP, one-third (17/50, 34%) preferring a telematic CRP, and one-third (18/50, 37%) preferring a hybrid approach. Regarding CRP duration, 63% (31/50) of the patients considered it adequate, whereas the remaining 37% (19/50) preferred a longer program. CONCLUSIONS A holistic telematic CRP dedicated to patients after an ischemic cardiac event, irrespective of sex and age, is safe and, in our population, has achieved positive results in improving maximal aerobic capacity, weekly training volume, muscle strength, quality of life, compliance with diet, and anxiety symptoms. The preference for a center- or home-based CRP approach is diverse among the study population, emphasizing the need for a tailored CRP to improve adherence and completion rates.

Myocardial deformation integrated with cardiac dimensions provides a comprehensive assessment of cardiac function, which has proven useful to differentiate cardiac pathology from physiological adaptation to situations such as chronic intensive training. Feature tracking (FT) can measure myocardial deformation from cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) cine sequences; however, its accuracy is not yet fully validated. Our aim was to compare the accuracy and reproducibility of FT with speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) in highly trained endurance athletes. Ninety-three endurance athletes (> 12-h training/week during the last 5 years, 52% male, 35 ± 5.1 years old) and 72 age-matched controls underwent resting CMR and transthoracic echocardiography to assess biventricular exercise-induced remodeling and biventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS) by CMR-FT and STE. Strain values were significantly lower when assessed by CMR-FT compared to STE (p < 0.001), with good reproducibility for the left ventricle (bias = 3.94%, limit of agreement [LOA] = ± 4.27 %) but wider variability for right ventricle strain. Strain values by both techniques proportionally decreased with increasing ventricular volumes, potentially depicting the functional biventricular reserve that characterizes athletes’ hearts. Biventricular longitudinal strain values were lower when assessed by FT as compared to STE. Both methods were statistically comparable when measuring LV strain but not RV strain. These differences might be justified by the lower in-plane spatial and temporal resolution of FT, which is particularly relevant for the complex anatomy of the RV. • Strain values were significantly lower when assessed by FT as compared to STE, which was expected due to the lower in-plane spatial and temporal resolution of FT versus STE. • Both methods were statistically comparable when measuring LV strain but not for RV strain analysis. • Characterizing the normal ranges and reproducibility of strain metrics by FT is an important step toward its clinical applicability, since it can be assessed offline and applied to routinely acquired cine CMR images.

The electrocardiographic (ECG) definition of Brugada syndrome (BS) can be challenging because benign ECG abnormalities, such as right bundle branch block (RBBB), may mimic pathological ECG characteristics of BrS. However, although myocardial delay and deformation can be quantified by advanced imaging, it has not yet been used to differentiate between BrS and RBBB. The aim of this study was to characterize the electro-mechanical behavior of the heart of patients with type-1 BrS and isolated complete RBBB in order to differentiate these conditions.In this two-center study, 66 subjects were analyzed by standard and speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE): 22 type-1 BrS, 24 isolated complete RBBB, and 20 healthy subjects. The participants were not treated by any drug potentially influencing myocardial conduction.Standard echocardiographic parameters did not differ among the groups. The greatest right ventricular (RV) mechanical dispersion was found in RBBB. Mean absolute deviations (MADs) of time-to-peak longitudinal strain calculated for each left ventricular (LV) region were greater in patients with RBBB as compared to BrS (p .01). No differences were found between BrS and controls (p = .36). MADs in the basal segments in RBBB group were greater than MADs found in BrS group and controls (37.3 ms vs. 26.7 ms and 29.0 ms, respectively, p .05). The greatest differences were found in the antero-septal, anterior, lateral, and infero-septal basal segments.Advanced echocardiographic techniques may help to differentiate between BrS and RBBB. Indeed, STE allows to identify an electro-mechanical conduction delay in RBBB patients that is not found in patients affected by type-1 BrS.

Imaging techniques have allowed knowing the structural adaptative changes observed in the hearts of highly trained athletes. Athletes can develop very marked structural changes and the need may rise for a differential diagnosis with real cardiomyopathy. In this chapter, authors review the physiologic and morphologic features associated with athletic training and the keys to differentiate normal adaptive athlete's heart from mild or initial expression forms of left-heart side cardiomyopathies such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), and left ventricle non-compaction (LVNC).

Long‐lasting athletic training induces an overload on the heart that leads to structural, functional, and electrical adaptive changes known as the “athlete's heart.” The amount of this heart remodeling has been traditionally considered balanced between the left and the right heart chambers. However, during intense exercise, the right heart is exposed to a disproportional afterload and wall stress which over a long period of time could lead to more pronounced exercise‐induced changes. Highly trained athletes, especially those involved in endurance sport disciplines, can develop marked right ventricular (RV) remodeling that could raise the suspicion of an underlying RV pathology including arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM). The distinction between physiological and pathological RV remodeling is essential as ACM is a common cause of sudden cardiac death in athletes, and high‐intensity exercise training has demonstrated to accelerate its phenotypic expression and worsen its prognosis. The distinction between physiological and pathological RV remodeling is essential since ACM is a common cause of sudden cardiac death in athletes, and high‐intensity exercise training has demonstrated to accelerate the phenotypic expression and worsen the prognosis. This article outlines the physiological adaptation of the RV to acute exercise, the subsequent physiological structural and functional changes induced by athletic training and provides useful tips of how to differentiate between physiological RV remodeling and a cardiomyopathy phenotype.

Sports Cardiology practice commonly involves the evaluation of athletes for genetically determined cardiac conditions that may predispose to malignant arrhythmias, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death. High-level exercise can lead to electrical and structural cardiac remodelling which mimics inherited cardiac conditions (ICCs). Differentiation between 'athlete's heart' and pathology can be challenging and often requires the whole armamentarium of available investigations. Genetic studies over the last 30 years have identified many of the genetic variants that underpin ICCs and technological advances have transformed genetic testing to a more readily available and affordable clinical tool which may aid diagnosis, management, and prognosis. The role of genetic testing in the evaluation and management of athletes with suspected cardiac conditions is often unclear beyond the context of specialist cardio-genetics centres. This document is aimed at physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals involved in the athlete's care. With the expanding role and availability of genetic testing in mind, this document was created to address the needs of the broader sports cardiology community, most of whom work outside specialized cardio-genetics centres, when faced with the evaluation and management of athletes with suspected ICC. The first part of the document provides an overview of basic terminology and principles and offers guidance on the appropriate use of genetic testing in the assessment of such athletes. It outlines key considerations when contemplating genetic testing, highlighting the potential benefits and pitfalls, and offers a roadmap to genetic testing. The second part of the document presents common clinical scenarios in Sports Cardiology practice, outlining the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications of genetic testing, including impact on exercise recommendations. The scope of this document does not extend to a comprehensive description of the genetic basis, investigation, or management of ICCs.

Background The mechanisms underlying the high interindividual variability demonstrated for right-ventricular (RV) adaptation to exercise have not yet been identified, but different pulmonary vascular adaptations among individuals could be involved. Pulmonary transit of agitated saline (PTAS) during exercise has been demonstrated to be a good estimator of vascular reserve. Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of PTAS among endurance athletes (EAs) of both sexes and its influence on RV adaptation to exercise. Methods A total of 100 highly trained EAs performed a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test. Bi-ventricular functional and structural characteristics as well as PTAS were evaluated at baseline and at peak exercise. Athletes were distributed between two groups based on the amount of PTAS during exercise as high (HTPAS; >12 bubbles) and low (LPTAS; ≤12 bubbles). Results Overall, 11 EAs exhibited an intra-cardiac shunt at rest and 1 met the criteria for chronic pulmonary disease and were excluded from the study. Among the remaining 88 EAs (51% women), 47 (53%) athletes were classified as HPTAS and 41 (47%) as LPTAS. HPTAS capability was associated with significantly larger RV contractile reserve, larger pulmonary vascular reserve and an enhanced maximal exercise capacity. On multivariate analysis, females were the only independent correlate of the HPTAS capability. Conclusion In highly trained endurance athletes, a HPTAS capability during exercise corresponded to an increase in pulmonary vascular and RV contractile reserves as well as an enhanced maximal exercise capacity. The long-term clinical or performance implications of the absence or presence of pulmonary shunting, and the subsequent RV afterload increase while performing exercise, remains to be determined.

Moderate exercise has well-founded benefits in cardiovascular health. However, increasing, yet controversial, evidence suggests that extremely trained athletes may not be protected from cardiovascular events as much as moderately trained individuals. In our rodent model, intensive but not moderate training promoted aorta and carotid stiffening and elastic lamina ruptures, tunica media thickening of intramyocardial arteries, and an imbalance between vasoconstrictor and relaxation agents. An up-regulation of angiotensin-converter enzyme, miR-212, miR-132, and miR-146b might account for this deleterious remodeling. Most changes remained after a 4-week detraining. In conclusion, our results suggest that intensive training blunts the benefits of moderate exercise.

Background The cumulative effects of intensive endurance exercise may induce a broad spectrum of right ventricular remodelling. The mechanisms underlying these variable responses have been scarcely explored, but may involve differential pulmonary vasculature adaptation. Our aim was to evaluate right ventricular and pulmonary circulation in highly trained endurance athletes. Methods Ninety-three highly trained endurance athletes (>12 h training/week at least during the last five years; age: 36 ± 6 years; 52.7% male) and 72 age- and gender-matched controls underwent resting cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging to assess cardiac dimensions and function, as well as pulmonary artery dimensions and flow. Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) was estimated based on left ventricular ejection fraction and pulmonary artery flow mean velocity. Resting and exercise Doppler echocardiography was also performed in athletes to estimate pulmonary artery pressure. Results Athletes showed larger biventricular and biatrial sizes, slightly reduced systolic biventricular function, increased pulmonary artery dimensions and reduced pulmonary artery flow velocity as compared with controls in both genders ( p 4.2 WU) were found in seven of the 93 (9.3%) athletes: those exhibiting an enlarged pulmonary artery (indexed area cm2/m2: 4.8 ± 0.6 vs. 3.9 ± 0.6, p Conclusions Exercise-induced remodelling involves, besides the cardiac chambers, the pulmonary circulation and is associated with an increased estimated PVR. A small subset of athletes exhibited substantial increase of estimated PVR related to pronounced pulmonary circulation remodelling and reduced right ventricular systolic function.

Aims Pre-participation evaluation (PPE) is recommended to prevent sudden cardiac death in athletes. Although imaging is not advocated as a first-line screening tool, there is a growing interest in the use of echocardiography in PPE of athletes. This survey aimed to map the use of imaging in the setting of PPE and explore physician beliefs and potential barriers that may influence individual practices. Methods An international survey of healthcare professionals was performed across ESC Member Countries. Percentages were reported based on the number of respondents per question. Results In total, 603 individuals from 97 countries participated in the survey. Two-thirds (65%) of respondents use echocardiography always or often as part of PPE of competitive athletes and this practice is not influenced by the professional or amateur status of the athlete. The majority (81%) of respondents who use echocardiography as a first-line screening tool perform the first echocardiogram during adolescence or at the first clinical evaluation, and 72% repeat it at least once in the athletes’ career, at 1–5 yearly intervals. In contrast, cardiac magnetic resonance is reserved as a second-line investigation of symptomatic athletes. The majority of the respondents did not report any barriers to echocardiography, while several barriers were identified for cardiac magnetic resonance. Conclusions Echocardiography is frequently used as a first-line screening tool of athletes. In the absence of scientific evidence, before such practice is recommended, large studies using echocardiography in the PPE setting are necessary.

IntroductionPrehabilitation programmes that combine exercise training, nutritional support and emotional reinforcement (multimodal prehabilitation) have demonstrated efficacy reducing postoperative complications in the context of abdominal surgery. However, such programmes have seldom been studied in cardiac surgery, one of the surgeries associated with higher postoperative morbidity and mortality. This trial will assess the feasibility and efficacy in terms of reduction of postoperative complications and cost-effectiveness of a multimodal prehabilitation programme comparing to the standard of care in cardiac surgical patients.Methods and analysisThis is a single-centre, randomised, open-label, controlled trial with a 1:1 ratio. Consecutive 160 elective valve replacement and/or coronary revascularisation surgical patients will be randomised to either standard of care or 4–6 weeks of multimodal prehabilitation that will consist in (1) two times/week supervised endurance and strength exercise training sessions, (2) promotion of physical activity and healthy lifestyle, (3) respiratory physiotherapy, (4) nutrition counselling and supplementation if needed, and (5) weekly mindfulness sessions. Baseline, preoperative and 3-month postoperative data will be collected by an independent blinded evaluator. The primary outcome of this study will be the incidence of postoperative complications.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Clinical investigation of Hospital Clinic de Barcelona (HCB/2017/0708). The results will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal.Trial registration numberNCT03466606.

Statistical shape analysis is a powerful tool to assess organ morphologies and find shape changes associated to a particular disease. However, imbalance in confounding factors, such as demographics might invalidate the analysis if not taken into consideration. Despite the methodological advances in the field, providing new methods that are able to capture complex and regional shape differences, the relationship between non-imaging information and shape variability has been overlooked. We present a linear statistical shape analysis framework that finds shape differences unassociated to a controlled set of confounding variables. It includes two confounding correction methods: confounding deflation and adjustment. We applied our framework to a cardiac magnetic resonance imaging dataset, consisting of the cardiac ventricles of 89 triathletes and 77 controls, to identify cardiac remodelling due to the practice of endurance exercise. To test robustness to confounders, subsets of this dataset were generated by randomly removing controls with low body mass index, thus introducing imbalance. The analysis of the whole dataset indicates an increase of ventricular volumes and myocardial mass in athletes, which is consistent with the clinical literature. However, when confounders are not taken into consideration no increase of myocardial mass is found. Using the downsampled datasets, we find that confounder adjustment methods are needed to find the real remodelling patterns in imbalanced datasets., This paper has been acccepted for publication in Medical Image Analysis. Please find the final version with its supplementary materials at doi.org/10.1016/j.media.2020.101792. Shared under license CC-BY-NC-ND

Objectives: High-intensity training has been associated with bi-ventricular and bi-atrial remodelling and a potentially increased risk of arrhythmias. Most of the evidence is based on endurance dis...

Background Controversy remains about the cut-off limits for detecting aortic dilatation in athletes, particularly in large-sized individuals. The allometric scaling model has been used to obtain size-independent measurements in cardiovascular structures in the general population. Aim The purpose of this study was to validate the use of allometric scaling in the measurement of the aortic root for competitive athletes and to offer reference values. Methods This was a cross-sectional study that analyses the dimensions of aortic root found in the echocardiogram performed as part of pre-participation sports screening in competitive athletes between 2012–2015. Beta exponents were calculated for height and body surface area in the whole cohort. In order to establish whether a common exponent could be used in both genders the following model was assessed y = a xb*exp(c*sex). If a common exponent could not be applied then sex-specific beta exponents were calculated. Results Two thousand and eighty-three athletes (64% men) were included, from a broad spectrum of 44 different sports disciplines, including basketball, volleyball and handball. The mean age was 18.2 ± 5.1 years (range 12–35 years) and all athletes were Caucasian, with a training load of 12.5 ± 5.4 h per week. Indexed aortic root dimension showed a correlation with ratiometric scaling by body surface area (r: −0.419) and generated size independence values with a very light correlation with height (r: −0.084); and with the allometric scaling by body surface area (r: −0.063) and height (r: −0.070). The absolute value of aortic root was higher in men than in women ( p Conclusion Size-independent aortic root dimension values are provided using allometric scaling by body surface area and height in a large cohort of competitive athletes. Aortic root values were larger in men than in women, both in absolute values and after allometric scaling. The use of these indexed aortic reference ranges can be useful for the early detection of aortic pathologies.

Improved clinical care has led to an increase in the number of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) engaging in leisure time and competitive sports activities. Although the benefits of exercise in patients with CHD are well established, there is a low but appreciable risk of exercise-related complications. Published exercise recommendations for individuals with CHD are predominantly centred on anatomic lesions, hampering an individualized approach to exercise advice in this heterogeneous population. This document presents an update of the recommendations for competitive sports participation in athletes with cardiovascular disease published by the Sports Cardiology & Exercise section of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) in 2005. It introduces an approach which is based on the assessment of haemodynamic, electrophysiological and functional parameters, rather than anatomic lesions. The recommendations provide a comprehensive assessment algorithm which allows for patient-specific assessment and risk stratification of athletes with CHD who wish to participate in competitive sports.

The first part of this chapter will provide an accurate definition of the term athlete. In this book, an athlete is considered to be an individual who is engaged in physical activity and exercise on a regular basis. This definition is intentionally wide, to include all those individuals regularly participating in some type of physical activity. The population of athletes is quite heterogeneous and further descriptors should be provided when describing an athlete’s population. These necessary descriptors include level of commitment (e.g. recreational, competitive, professional), exercise training parameters (e.g. frequency, intensity) and epidemiological characteristics (e.g. gender, age). Taking the different physical demands induced by different exercise components into account, several attempts have been made to classify athletes according to the specific impact of these components on performance, body composition and, of particular importance, on cardiovascular adaptation. In the second part of this chapter, the main characteristics, objectives and potential limitations of the two most used classification of sports will be addressed: (a) the traditional Mitchell classification, summarizing different sports into nine subgroups as defined by their percental proportion of static (i.e., predominantly strength-related) and dynamic (predominantly endurance-related) exercise components, and (b) the recent classification of sport disciplines according to the relative isometric and isotonic components of exercise and resulting cardiovascular adaptation. These classifications provide clinical and scientific support to understand the impact of exercise on cardiovascular adaptations in athletes and to distinguish them from pathological alterations that are associated with an increased risk of experiencing cardiovascular events during sports.

Objective to assess the effectiveness of a tailored Pre-Participation Medical Examination (PPME) prior to sport practice for athletes competing in team sports, has been suggested as a useful tool for an early identification and treatment of multiple disorders. Design Among 2008 and 2018 a total of 2570 athletes from 12 to 35 years old from 12 different team sports disciplines were evaluated by the PPME of Football Club Barcelona. Methods The PPME included: medical history, anthropometric data, physical examination, baseline 12-lead ECG, a maximal stress test, a 2D-Doppler echocardiography and an extensive orthopaedic evaluation. Results In 495 of the 2574 athletes (19.2%), the PPME identified pathologies that require a specific treatment or a closed follow-up. The most frequent medical conditions documented in young athletes were neurological, psychological and psychiatric disorders whereas in adults the most prevalent were respiratory and immunological pathologies. Two athletes were considered inadequate to compete due to severe cardiovascular diseases whereas seven required a specific treatment for their cardiovascular diseases in order to be considered eligible for sports competition. Additionally, a large proportion of athletes (958, 37.2%) reported previous musculoskeletal sport-related injuries being bone fractures and joint injuries the most frequent ones. Conclusions The Football Club Barcelona PPME was effective in identifying latent pathologies and musculoskeletal sport-related injuries in a significant proportion of young and adult athletes competing in team sports. The identification of these medical conditions allowed to provide an early and specific treatment and to implement strategic ad hoc preventive programs.

Background: High-intensity training has been associated with atrial remodelling and arrhythmias in men. Our purpose was to analyse atrial performance in female endurance athletes, compared to male athletes and controls. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. We included four groups: female athletes, females controls, male athletes and male controls. Left (LA) and right atrial (RA) volumes and function were assessed using 2D and speckle-tracking echocardiography to determine peak atrial strain-rate at atrial (SRa) and ventricular contraction (SRs), as surrogates of atrial contractile and reservoir function, respectively. ANOVA and Bonferroni’s statistical tests were used to compare variables among groups. Results: We included 82 subjects, 39 women (19 endurance athletes, 20 controls) and 43 men (22 endurance athletes, 21 controls). Mean age was similar between groups (36.6 ± 5.6 years). Athletes had larger bi-atrial volumes, compared to controls (women, LA 27.1 vs. 15.8 ml/m2, p

Resumen La muerte subita en el deporte esta causada en la mayoria de ocasiones por enfermedades cardiacas. El objetivo del cribado pre-participativo es poder identificar a los individuos que requieran un tratamiento especifico para continuar el deporte o el cese de la practica deportiva. La evidencia cientifica actual se basa en recomendaciones de expertos que en algunos casos son controvertidas y en ocasiones poco practicas. Esta revision tiene como objetivo dar un enfoque actualizado y pragmatico de las recomendaciones en los deportistas con cardiopatia.

Resumen La extrasistolia ventricular aislada es un hallazgo comun en la prueba de esfuerzo de algunos deportistas. No hay evidencia cientifica extensa en el manejo de esta situacion, particularmente cuando es un hallazgo en un individuo asintomatico sin antecedentes. En este caso se presenta un deportista asintomatico, sin antecedentes, de 26 anos, jugador de rugby profesional, con 2 extrasistoles ventriculares en la fase de recuperacion de la prueba de esfuerzo (una con imagen de bloqueo de rama derecha y la otra izquierda), pruebas complementarias cardiologicas normales (Holter, ecocardiograma doppler, ECG senal promediada, tomografia coronaria) excepto el hallazgo de fibrosis transmural del ventriculo izquierdo en la resonancia cardiaca, asi como la toma de decision en relacion a la aptitud deportiva en el contexto de la escasa evidencia cientifica disponible en estos casos.

This paper belongs to a series of recommendation documents for participation in leisure-time physical activity and competitive sports by the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC). Together with an accompanying paper on supraventricular arrhythmias, this second text deals specifically with those participants in whom some form of ventricular rhythm disorder is documented, who are diagnosed with an inherited arrhythmogenic condition, and/or who have an implanted pacemaker or cardioverter defibrillator. A companion text on recommendations in athletes with supraventricular arrhythmias is published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Since both texts focus on arrhythmias, they are the result of a collaboration between EAPC and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA). The documents provide a framework for evaluating eligibility to perform sports, based on three elements, i.e. the prognostic risk of the arrhythmias when performing sports, the symptomatic impact of arrhythmias while performing sports, and the potential progression of underlying structural problems as the result of sports.

Objectives This study sought to understand and characterize the acute atrial response to endurance exercise and the influence of the amount of exercise performed. Background Endurance exercise seems to be recognized as a risk factor for developing atrial arrhythmia. Atrial geometrical and functional remodeling may be the underlying substrate. Methods Echocardiography was performed in 55 healthy adults at baseline and after a 3-stage trail race: a short race (S) (14 km), n = 17; a medium race (M) (35 km), n = 21; and a long race (L) (56 km), n = 17. Analysis consisted of standard, speckle-tracking assessment of both the left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV) and both the left atrium (LA) and the right atrium (RA): a-wave strain (Sa) and strain rate (Ra) as a surrogate for atrial contractile function and s-wave strain (St) and strain rate (SR) as reservoir function. Results After the race, RA reservoir function decreased in group M (Δ% SRs: −12.5) and further in group L (Δ% SRs: −15.4), with no changes in group S. RA contractile function decreased in group L (Δ% SRa: −9.3), showed no changes in group M (Δ% SRa: +0.7), and increased in group S (Δ% SRa: +14.8). A similar trend was documented in LA reservoir and contractile function but with less pronounced changes. The decrease in RA reservoir after the race correlated with the decrease in RV global longitudinal strain (GLS) (Δ% RVGLS vs. RASt and RASRs: +0.44; p Conclusions During a trail-running race, an acute exercise-dose dependent impairment in atrial function was observed, mostly in the RA, which was related to RV systolic dysfunction. The impact on atrial function of long-term endurance training might lead to atrial remodeling, favoring arrhythmia development.

Right ventricular longitudinal strain (RVLS) by 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) is a useful parameter for assessing systolic function. However, the exact method to perform it is not well defined as some authors evaluate only free wall (FW) segments while others include all six RV segments. To compare the assessment of RVLS at rest and during exercise by these two approaches. Echocardiography was performed on 80 healthy subjects at rest and during exercise. The analysis consisted of standard and 2D-STE assessment of RV global and segmental strain tracing only RVFW and also tracing all six RV segments. At rest, RVLS could be assessed in 78 (feasibility 97.5%) subjects by both methods. However, during exercise, RVLS by RVFW method was feasible in 67 (83.8%) as compared to 74 (92.5%) by RV6S approach. Both at rest and during exercise, RVLS values by the two methods showed excellent correlation (r = > 0.90). However, RVLS values assessed by RV6S were lower (absolute values) than those by RVFW approach (RV6S vs. RVFW; rest: − 27.0 ± 3.9 vs. − 9.5 ± 3.9, p

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular (RV) remodeling has been reported in response to regular training, but it remains unclear how exercise intensity affects the presence and extent of such remodeling. We aimed to assess the relationship between RV remodeling and exercise load in a long-term endurance training model. Wistar rats were conditioned to run at moderate (MOD; 45 min, 30 cm/s) or intense (INT; 60 min, 60 cm/s) workloads for 16 wk; sedentary rats served as controls. Cardiac remodeling was assessed with standard echocardiographic and tissue Doppler techniques, sensor-tip pressure catheters, and pressure-volume loop analyses. After MOD training, both ventricles similarly dilated (~16%); the RV apical segment deformation, but not the basal segment deformation, was increased [apical strain rate (SR): −2.9 ± 0.5 vs. −3.3 ± 0.6 s−1, SED vs. MOD]. INT training prompted marked RV dilatation (~26%) but did not further dilate the left ventricle (LV). A reduction in both RV segments' deformation in INT rats (apical SR: −3.3 ± 0.6 vs. −3.0 ± 0.4 s−1 and basal SR: −3.3 ± 0.7 vs. −2.7 ± 0.6 s−1, MOD vs. INT) led to decreased global contractile function (maximal rate of rise of LV pressure: 2.53 ± 0.15 vs. 2.17 ± 0.116 mmHg/ms, MOD vs. INT). Echocardiography and hemodynamics consistently pointed to impaired RV diastolic function in INT rats. LV systolic and diastolic functions remained unchanged in all groups. In conclusion, we showed a biphasic, unbalanced RV remodeling response with increasing doses of exercise: physiological adaptation after MOD training turns adverse with INT training, involving disproportionate RV dilatation, decreased contractility, and impaired diastolic function. Our findings support the existence of an exercise load threshold beyond which cardiac remodeling becomes maladaptive. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Exercise promotes left ventricular eccentric hypertrophy with no changes in systolic or diastolic function in healthy rats. Conversely, right ventricular adaptation to physical activity follows a biphasic, dose-dependent, and segmentary pattern. Moderate exercise promotes a mild systolic function enhancement at the right ventricular apex and more intense exercise impairs systolic and diastolic function.

Introduction Pre-participation screening in athletes attempts to reduce the incidence of sudden death during sports by identifying susceptible individuals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic capacity of the different pre-participation screening points in adolescent athletes and the cost effectiveness of the programme. Methods Athletes were studied between 12-18 years old. Pre-participation screening included the American Heart Association questionnaire, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and stress test. The cost of test was established by the Catalan public health system. Results Of 1650 athletes included, 57% were men and mean age was 15.09 ± 1.82 years. Positive findings were identified as follows: in American Heart Association questionnaire 5.09% of subjects, in electrocardiogram 3.78%, in echocardiogram 4.96%, and in exercise test 1.75%. Six athletes (0.36%) were disqualified from participation and 10 (0.60%) were referred for interventional treatment. Diagnostic capacity was assessed by the area under the curve for detection of diseases that motivated disqualification for sport practice (American Heart Association questionnaire, 0.55; electrocardiogram, 0.72; echocardiogram, 0.88; stress test, 0.57). The cost for each athlete disqualified from the sport for a disease causing sudden death was €45,578. Conclusion The electrocardiogram and echocardiogram were the most useful studies to detect athletes susceptible to sudden death, and the stress test best diagnosed arrhythmias with specific treatment. In our country, pre-participatory screening was cost effective to detect athletes who might experience sudden death in sports.

Background: The significance and spectrum of reduced right ventricular (RV) deformation, reported in endurance athletes, is unclear. Purpose: to comprehensively analyze the cardiac performance at rest of athletes, especially focusing on integrating RV size and deformation to unravel the underlying triggers of this ventricular remodelling. Methods: 100 professional male athletes and 50 sedentary healthy males of similar age were prospectively studied. Conventional echocardiographic parameters of all 4 chambers were obtained, as well as 2D echo-derived strain (2DSE) in the left (LV) and in the RV free wall with separate additional analysis of the RV basal and apical segments. Results: Left and right-sided dimensions were larger in athletes than in controls, but with a disproportionate RA enlargement. RV global strain was lower in sportsmen (-26.8 ± 2.8 vs -28.5 ± 3.4%, p

13 páginas, 9 tablas, 2 figuras. Contiene material suplementario., Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a disorder characterized by a progressive ventricular myocardial replacement by fat and fibrosis, which lead to ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Mutations in the desmosomal gene Plakophilin-2 (PKP2) accounts for >40% of all known mutations, generally causing a truncated protein. In a PKP2-truncated mouse model, we hypothesize that content of transgene, endurance training and aging will be determinant in disease progression. In addition, we investigated the molecular defects associated with the phenotype in this model. We developed a transgenic mouse model containing a truncated PKP2 (PKP2-Ser329) and generated three transgenic lines expressing increasing transgene content. The pathophysiological features of ACM in this model were assessed. While we did not observe fibro-fatty replacement, ultrastructural defects were exhibited. Moreover, we observed transgene content-dependent development of structural (ventricle dilatation and dysfunction) and electrophysiological anomalies in mice (PR interval and QRS prolongation and arrhythmia induction). In concordance with pathological defects, we detected a content reduction and remodeling of the structural proteins Desmocollin-2, Plakoglobin, native Plakophilin-2, Desmin and β-Catenin as well as the electrical coupling proteins Connexin 43 and cardiac sodium channel (Nav1.5). Surprisingly, we observed structural but not electrophysiological abnormalities only in trained and old mice. We demonstrated that truncated PKP2 provokes ACM in the absence of fibro-fatty replacement in the mouse. Transgene dose is essential to reveal the pathology, whereas aging and endurance training trigger limited phenotype. Molecular abnormalities underlay the structural and electrophysiological defects., This work was supported by grants from “Fundació la Caixa”, Red de Investigación Cardiovascular from Instituto Salud Carlos III (RD12/0042/0044 and RD12/0042/0019), MINECO (SAF2012-39732), and Fundació Marató TV3 2014, Spain.

Background: Characteristic right ventricle (RV) remodelling is related to endurance exercise in male athletes (MAs), but data in female athletes (FAs) are scarce. Our aim was to evaluate sex-related influence on exercise-induced RV remodelling and on RV performance during exercise. Methods: Forty endurance athletes (>10 training hours/week, 50% female) and 40 age-matched controls (

Previous studies have suggested good adaptation of cardiac transplant (CTx) recipients to exposure to a high altitude. No studies have investigated the cardiopulmonary and biomarker responses to acute hypoxic challenges following CTx. Thirty-six CTx recipients and 17 age-matched healthy controls (HC) were recruited. Sixteen (16) patients (42%) had cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). Cardiopulmonary responses to maximal and submaximal exercise at 21% O2 , 20-minutes hypoxia (11.5% O2 ), and following a 10-minute exposure to 11.5% O2 using 30% of peak power output were completed. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) were measured at baseline and at peak stress. Endothelial peripheral function was assessed using near-infrared spectroscopy. Compared with HC, CTx presented a lesser O2 desaturation both at rest (-19.4 ± 6.8 [CTx] vs -24.2 ± 6.0% O2 [HC], P < 0.05) and following exercise (-23.2 ± 4.9 [CTx] vs -26.2 ± 4.7% O2 [HC], P < 0.05). CTx patients exhibited a significant decrease in peak oxygen uptake. IL-6 and VEGF levels were significantly higher in CTx recipients in basal conditions but did not change in response to acute stress. CTx patients exhibit a favorable ventilatory and overall response to hypoxic stress. These data provide further insights on the good adaptability of CTx to exposure to high altitude.

This study sought to understand and characterize the acute atrial response to endurance exercise and the influence of the amount of exercise performed.Endurance exercise seems to be recognized as a risk factor for developing atrial arrhythmia. Atrial geometrical and functional remodeling may be the underlying substrate.Echocardiography was performed in 55 healthy adults at baseline and after a 3-stage trail race: a short race (S) (14 km), n = 17; a medium race (M) (35 km), n = 21; and a long race (L) (56 km), n = 17. Analysis consisted of standard, speckle-tracking assessment of both the left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV) and both the left atrium (LA) and the right atrium (RA): a-wave strain (Sa) and strain rate (Ra) as a surrogate for atrial contractile function and s-wave strain (St) and strain rate (SR) as reservoir function.After the race, RA reservoir function decreased in group M (Δ% SRs: -12.5) and further in group L (Δ% SRs: -15.4), with no changes in group S. RA contractile function decreased in group L (Δ% SRa: -9.3), showed no changes in group M (Δ% SRa: +0.7), and increased in group S (Δ% SRa: +14.8). A similar trend was documented in LA reservoir and contractile function but with less pronounced changes. The decrease in RA reservoir after the race correlated with the decrease in RV global longitudinal strain (GLS) (Δ% RVGLS vs. RASt and RASRs: +0.44; p 0.05 and +0.41, respectively; p 0.05).During a trail-running race, an acute exercise-dose dependent impairment in atrial function was observed, mostly in the RA, which was related to RV systolic dysfunction. The impact on atrial function of long-term endurance training might lead to atrial remodeling, favoring arrhythmia development.

Right ventricle (RV) dysfunction has been described in athletes after endurance races. We aimed to understand and characterize the RV response to endurance exercise, the impact of individual variability and the effects of the amount of exercise.Echocardiography was performed in 55 healthy adults at baseline and after a three-stage trail race: short (14 km; n = 17); medium (35 km; n = 21); and long (56 km; n = 17). Standard and speckle tracking echocardiographic assessment of the RV was performed with global and separate analysis of the RV basal (inflow) and apical regions. Although no change was observed in the short distance runners, the RV systolic deformation decreased significantly (p 0.05) after both the medium length and long races (Δ% RV global strain -7.6 ± 20.1 and -8.7 ± 21.8, respectively) with significant RV dilatation (Δ% RV volume +10.6 ± 9.9 and +15.3 ± 12.8, respectively). The RV basal segment made a major contribution to stroke volume during exercise, showing larger increases in size and strain compared with the apex. Various patterns of RV adaptation to exercise, ranging from increases in both RV segmental strains and sizes to an insufficient increase in size and a decrease in strain, were identified; this individual variability was not correlated with prior training.An acute RV impairment was demonstrated after a trail-running race and was related to the amount of exercise. A high inter-individual variability was observed. Differences in RV adaptation patterns were independent of prior training, suggesting the influence was due to other individual factors.