Transmitral and pulmonary venous flow study in elite male runners and young adults

BACKGROUND: Even if diastolic function has been assessed in athletes by analysis of transmitral Doppler flow, no one has studied pulmonary venous flow in this population. The aim of this study was to establish if the physiological adaptations following a prolonged physical training could influence the diastolic function in a professional Olympic male runner group. METHODS: From February to December 1999 we studied 25 athletes (Group I) during the period of maximal training compared with 18 age- and sex-matched healthy sedentary subjects (Group II). We used mono- and bidimensional Echocardiography to assess left ventricular structure and systolic function. The diastolic function was evaluated by Doppler method assessing transmitral and venous pulmonary flow. RESULTS: From the comparison between the two groups, we found great differences in the interventricular septum and the posterior wall thickness; the analysis of the systolic function demonstrated a significant increase in ejection fraction, stroke volume, left ventricular mass, and end diastolic volume in the athletes' population. Fluximetric study showed that ventricular diastolic function is not influenced by hypertrophy: indeed, Doppler evaluation of the transmitral flow showed a bigger velocity of the E wave, similarly, when we assessed pulmonary venous flow, we found faster retrograde Ar wave in group I. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that diastolic function remains normal or improves in some cases after physical training; left ventricular hypertrophy and concentric remodeling do not involve diastolic changes like hypertrophic and hypertensive heart diseases.