Differences in athlete's left ventricular morphology by sex and sports discipline categories in elite Japanese athletes.

Abstract

Objectives: The cardiac morphology of elite athletes is related to sports disciplines and race; however, no studies have examined the effects of sports discipline on East Asian athletes. Therefore, this study aimed to assess left ventricular (LV) remodeling using transthoracic echocardiography in elite Japanese athletes and establish standard values for the indicators of the cardiac morphology of elite athletes in East Asia, considering the influence of body size.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 1,363 elite Japanese athletes who underwent electrocardiography and transthoracic echocardiography between January 2011 and December 2021. The athletes were assigned to four sports discipline categories (skill, power, mixed, and endurance). We evaluated the differences in LV volume and mass between the groups for each sex.

Results: The LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and LV mass indexed to the body surface area (BSA) in the endurance group (LVEDV/BSA: 72.3 ± 11.4 mL/m² in males and 68.7 ± 11.0 mL/m² in females, LV mass/BSA: 121.1 ± 19.1 g/m² in males and 106.5 ± 18.0 g/m² in females) were significantly larger than those of any other groups. Both values were affected by sex, BSA, and endurance sport type, whereas only LV mass was affected by age.

Conclusion: Cardiac remodeling is proportional to the sport type, with a significantly greater effect in athletes playing endurance sports. The remodeling is particularly evident in the left ventricle; however, the corresponding remodeling is also observed in other heart chambers. Cardiac remodeling in elite Japanese athletes is similar to that observed in elite athletes of other races, except for the changes in LV wall thickness.