Morphofunctional adjustments assessed by echocardiogram in male elite triathlon athletes

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiovascular adjustments of elite athletes allow predicting the ade-quacy of the physical training they undergo. The atrial changes, which have not been studied much, are established earlier than the ventricular ones.

Objectives: To evaluate the left ventricular and atrial morphofunctional changes in elite triathlon athletes at different stages of training.

Method: A prospective, longitudinal and descriptive study was conducted by perfor-ming two-dimensional and M-mode echocardiography, with pulse tissue Doppler and color tissue Doppler, to obtain the specific variables involved in the study of all mem-bers of the men's national triathlon team. The universe consisted of six athletes. The study was performed bimonthly for a period of one year, to cover different training stages.

Results: Athletes were 20 to 24 years of age and had a mean body surface area of 1.89 m2. The septal and posterior wall thickness, and left ventricular end-diastolic vo-lume increased significantly (p < 0.01) as the training advanced, and likewise happened with the left atrium diameter and the variables proposed to measure myocardial con-tractility (Strain and Strain Rate).

Conclusions: Physical exercise produces changes in end diastolic diameter and volumes of left ventricle, in its ejection fraction, and in the thickness of the interventricular septum and posterior wall. The new variables proposed for measuring myocardial contractility demonstrated the training efficiency in the heart of athletes. The diame-ter, volume and left atrial pressure increased in proportion to the intensity of exer-cise. This atrial pressure had a tendency to return to baseline values by decreasing the training load.