ABSTRACT
Little information is available regarding the effects of strenuous exercise on cardiac function. We evaluated the effect of severe prolong exercise on ventricular performance. Army rangers were invited to participate in this study. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography using tissue Doppler imaging. A total of 45 consecutive male rangers who completed ranger training program were included in this study. Peak systolic myocardial velocity [S] decreased significantly after training [12.46 +/- 0.54 vs. 9.93 +/- 0.45 cm/s; P< 0.001]. In the right ventricle, tissue Doppler measures of systolic and early diastolic function decreased significantly after training. In conclusion, strenuous prolonged exercise may result in depressed left ventricular contractile function