ABSTRACT
Objective To assess the left ventricular systolic function in young strength male athletes by three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3D-STE).Methods A total of 45 young strength male athletes (athlete group) and 30 healthy young men (control group)were enrolled.Traditional echocardiography combined with 3D-STE were applied for all the subjects to obtain heart rate (HR),left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD),the thickness of interventricular septum (IVS) and posterior wall thickness (PWT),relative wall thickness (RWT),left ventricular end-diastolic volume (EDV),endsystolic volume (ESV),left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),stroke volume (SV),left ventricular mass (LVM),left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS),global circumferential strain (GCS),global area strain (GAS),global radial strain (GRS).Results There were a significant increase inLVEDD,IVS,PWT,RWT,EDV,ESV,SV,LVM and significant decrease in HR,GLS,GCS,GAS and GRS in athlete group compared with the control group (P ＜ 0.05).However,there was no significant difference in LVEF between two groups (P ＞0.05).Conclusions There are subclinical changes of left ventricular systolic functionin of young strength male athletes.3D-STE can accurately assess the changes,and provide reliable information for clinical assessment of athletes' heart function.