Characterizing the left and right atrial adaptations in middle-aged chronic endurance athletes: a cMRI study.
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Chronic endurance exercise induces several hemodynamic stressors on the cardiovascular system resulting in adaptations collectively defined as the Athlete’s Heart. We characterized the morphological adaptations in the left atrium (LA) and right atrium (RA) in response to chronic endurance training using the gold-standard imaging modality of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) in both middle-aged elite endurance athletes (n=71) and recreationally active controls (n=19). All subjects underwent maximal exercise testing (VO2max), exercise history questionnaires, and received a cMRI scan. Endurance athletes demonstrated objectively larger LA and RA volumes than controls. LA and RA volumes were positively correlated to VO2max, although not lifetime endurance hours. Male athletes demonstrated greater atrial dimensions than female athletes. Overall there was a weak ability to predict the magnitude of atrial remodeling specific to an athlete, suggesting a large heterogeneity in the atrial response to chronic endurance activity in the middle-aged athletic cohort.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Meghan Glibbery
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3153392253