Early echocardiography studies of left ventricular (LV) morphology and function focused
on single discipline athletes, primarily endurance and strength trained. To date there
are few studies examining multi-disciplinary trained athletes. The present echocardiographic
study examined LV morphology and function in 18 elite triathletes (swimming, cycling,
and running) and 11 elite modern pentathletes (running, swimming, shooting, fencing,
and show-jumping) compared with age- and sex-matched controls. Elite triathletes demonstrated
significantly (p < 0.05) increased LV wall thickness and cavity dimensions together
with LV mass, both in absolute terms and scaled for body surface area, compared with
controls. Elite modern pentathletes demonstrated significantly (p < 0.05) increased
LV wall thickness with a non-significant increase in LV internal diameter. Despite
significant LV enlargement, the distribution of hypertrophy and diastolic filling
indices were normal in both triathletes and modern pentathletes and significantly
increased in the triathletes. It is concluded that multi-disciplinary training results
in variations in LV morphology. The inciting stimulus resulting in LV enlargement
in triathletes is associated with prolonged endurance activity, together with an isometric
component accompanying cycling. In contrast, elite modern pentathletes experience
a reduced endurance component combined with a high isometric component associated
with fencing.
Key words
Multi-discipline sports - left ventricular hypertrophy - echocardiography
