Usefulness of heart rate recovery parameters to monitor cardiovascular adaptation in elite athletes: The impact of the type of sport.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine heart rate (HR) recovery after maximal test in elite athletes who compete in high dynamic, high static, and in mixed sport disciplines; to assess differences in HR recovery between these groups of athletes; and to measure the association of HR index (HRI) with heart adaptation variables to determine whether these values were correlated with the type of exercise. METHODS: One hundred and ninety-four elite athletes were divided into three groups according to the predominant type of exercise performed: endurance (n = 40), strength-sprinter (n = 36), and ball-game players (n = 118). They performed maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing on a treadmill and were subjected to echocardiography. The rate of decline (HR recovery) was calculated as the difference between maximum and recovery HRs (HRrec1 and HRrec3). The HRI was calculated as HRmax - 1-min post-exercise HR (HRrec1). RESULTS: The most significant correlation of HRI was with posterior wall diameter and left ventricular (LV) mass index (r = 0.43 and r = 0.51; p = 0.012 and p = 0.003, respectively). LV mass index [Beta (B) = 0.354, p = 0.001] was an independent predictor of HRI and HRrec1. HRI may be an effective tool for discrimination of physiological and "gray zone" LV hypertrophy, with area under the curve of 0.545 (95% CI = 0.421-0.669, p = 0.0432). HRI displayed a sensitivity of 50% and specificity of 52.2% at the optimal cut-off value of 23.5. CONCLUSION: HR recovery pattern, especially HRI, may offer a timely and efficient tool to identify athletes with autonomous nervous system adaptive changes.

Correlation between ECG changes and early left ventricular remodeling in preadolescent footballers.

The aim of this study was to assess the early electrocardiogram (ECG) changes induced by physical training in preadolescent elite footballers. This study included 94 preadolescent highly trained male footballers (FG) competing in Serbian Football League (minimum of 7 training hours/week) and 47 age-matched healthy male controls (less than 2 training hours/week) (CG). They were screened by ECG and echocardiography at a tertiary referral cardio center. Sokolow-Lyon index was used as a voltage electrocardiographic criterion for left ventricular hypertrophy diagnosis. Characteristic ECG intervals and voltage were compared and reference range was given for preadolescent footballers. Highly significant differences between FG and CG were registered in all ECG parameters: P-wave voltage (p < 0.001), S-wave (V1 or V2 lead) voltage (p < 0.001), R-wave (V5 and V6 lead) voltage (p < 0.001), ECG sum of S V1-2 + R V5-6 (p < 0.001), T-wave voltage (p < 0.001), QRS complex duration (p < 0.001), T-wave duration (p < 0.001), QTc interval duration (p < 0.001), and R/T ratio (p < 0.001). No differences were found in PQ interval duration between these two groups (p > 0.05). During 6-year follow-up period, there was no adverse cardiac event in these footballers. None of them expressed pathological ECG changes. Benign ECG changes are presented in the early stage of athlete's heart remodeling, but they are not related to pathological ECG changes and they should be regarded as ECG pattern of LV remodeling.

Superior lung capacity in swimmers: Some questions, more answers!

BACKGROUND: Physical activity has a positive effect on the function of the whole human body system. The influence of physical activity on the development of the respiratory system is still a matter for debate. Swimming is considered the sport with the most profound effect on the lungs. AIM: The first aim was to determine pulmonary function and to correlate it with anthropometric features of sportsmen, represented by land- and the water-based elite athletes comparing with their sedentary counterparts; the second aim was to examine whether the training factors (frequency and amount) influence pulmonary function in swimmers, when controlled for anthropometric features. METHODS: Thirty-eight elite male swimmers were matched for age and sex with two hundred and seventy-one elite football players and one hundred controls who were not involved in any routine exercise. Lung volumes were recorded by Pulmonary Function test and analyzed statistically. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Swimmers had statistically higher values of VC, FVC, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC when compared to both the football players and the controls, as the latter two showed no in-between differences. There was significant positive correlation between age, body weight and body height and each of the above named pulmonary parameters, when presented separately for swimmers, football players and the control group. When controlled for the anthropometric features, larger lung volumes in swimmers were not influenced by training period, age at the beginning of training and weekly extent of personal training. Further comprehensive longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these observations.

Respiratory adaptations in different types of sport.

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies demonstrated that current European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society spirometric reference equations, used in general population, may not be applicable in population of elite athletes. Althought it is well known that physical activity may affect lung volumes, the effect of sporting activity on pulmonary function testing indices was never examined. The aim of this study was to examine the differences in functional respiratory parameters in various types of sports by measuring lung volumes and to extend the existing factors as well as sport disciplines which affect respiratory function the most. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 1639 elite male athletes, aged 18-35 years were divided in 4 groups according to the predominant characteristics of training: skill, power, mixed and endurance athletes. They performed basic anthropometric measurements and spirometry. Groups were compared, and Pearson's simple correlation was performed to test the relation between anthropometric and spirometric characteristics of athletes. RESULTS: All anthropometric characteristics significantly differed among groups and correlate with respiratory parameters. The highest correlation was found for body height and weight. CONCLUSIONS: Sports participation is associated with respiratory adaptation, and the extent of adaptation depends on type of activity. Endurance sports athletes have higher lung volumes in comparison with skill, mixed and power group of sport.

Respiratory parameters in elite athletes--does sport have an influence?

INTRODUCTION: Unlike large population studies about cardiovascular components and how they adapt to intensive physical activity, there is less research into the causes of enlargement of the respiratory system in athletes (e.g. vital capacity, maximum flow rates and pulmonary diffusion capacity). The purpose of this research was to study and compare pulmonary function in different types of sports and compare them with controls in order to find out which sports improve lung function the most. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Pulmonary functional capacities, vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) of 493 top athletes belonging to 15 different sports disciplines and of 16 sedentary individuals were studied. Pulmonary function test was performed according to ATS/ERS guidelines. RESULTS: Basketball, water polo players and rowers had statistically higher vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) than the healthy sedentary control individuals. Football and volleyball players had lower VC while FVC was higher in the football group compared to controls. Peak expiratory flow was lower in boxing, kayak, rugby, handball, taekwondo and tennis. The maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) was significantly higher in water polo players and rowers. Boxers had statistically lower MVV than the controls. Players of other sports did not differ from the control group. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that specific type of training used in basketball, water polo or rowing could have potential for improving pulmonary function and rehabilitation.