Global longitudinal active strain energy density (GLASED): age and sex differences between young and veteran athletes.

Background: Global longitudinal active strain energy density (GLASED) is an innovative method for assessing myocardial function and quantifies the work performed per unit volume of the left ventricular myocardium. The GLASED, measured using MRI, is the best prognostic marker currently available. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of measuring the GLASED using echocardiography and to investigate potential differences in the GLASED among athletes based on age and sex.

Methods: An echocardiographic study was conducted with male controls, male and female young athletes, and male and female veteran athletes. GLASED was calculated from the myocardial stress and strain.

Results: The mean age (in years) of the young athletes was 21.6 for males and 21.4 for females, while the mean age of the veteran athletes was 53.5 for males and 54.2 for females. GLASED was found to be highest in young male athletes (2.40 kJ/m³) and lowest in female veterans (1.96 kJ/m³). Veteran males exhibited lower values (1.96 kJ/m3) than young male athletes did (P < 0.001). Young females demonstrated greater GLASED (2.28 kJ/m³) than did veteran females (P < 0.01). However, no significant difference in the GLASED was observed between male and female veterans.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated the feasibility of measuring GLASED using echocardiography. GLASED values were greater in young male athletes than in female athletes and decreased with age, suggesting possible physiological differences in their myocardium. The sex-related differences observed in GLASED values among young athletes were no longer present in veteran athletes. We postulate that measuring the GLASED may serve as a useful additional screening tool for cardiac diseases in athletes, particularly for those with borderline phenotypes of hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies.