Journal of Peking University (Health Sciences) ›› 2021, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (5): 832-837. doi: 10.19723/j.issn.1671-167X.2021.05.004

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Assessment of heart’s changes of elite Chinese male weightlifter by speckle tracking echocardiography

WANG Xin-yu1,CUI Zhe2,HE Qing-yuan2,DENG Xiang-ning1,GUO Ge2,FENG Xin-heng1,FENG Jie-li1,()   

  1. 1. Department of Cardiology and Institute of Vascular Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital; Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, National Health Commission of the PRC; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Science, Ministry of Education; Beijing Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Receptors Research; Beijing 100191, China
    2. Department of Radiology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
  • Received:2021-06-04 Online:2021-10-18 Published:2021-10-11
  • Contact: Jie-li FENG E-mail:jielifeng@ymail.com
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(81972149);National Natural Science Foundation of China(81871850);Beijing Natural Science Foundation(7212125)

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Abstract:

Objective: To evaluate the changes of heart structure and function in elite Chinese weightlifters by spot tracking technique. Methods: Chinese elite male weightlifters (weightlifter group, n=16) and age-matched healthy men (control group, n=16) were included as subjects. Transthoracic echocardiography and speckle-tracking automatic functional imaging were used for two-dimensional myocardial strain measurements. Results: The thickness of septum and left ventricular (LV) posterior wall and the myocardial mass index of LV were all higher than those of the control group [(9.3±1.3) mm vs. (8.0±0.4) mm, (9.2±0.8) mm vs. (8.0±0.8) mm, (77.8±12.8) g/m2 vs. (67.8±11.2) g/m2, all P<0.05]. Although the LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and global long axis strain value (LVGLS) were not significantly different from those in the control group, the LV mean Sm and Em reflecting the systolic and diastolic functions of the LV were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Further myocardial strain analysis showed that the absolute value of the long axial strain of the basal anteroseptal and mid-inferoseptal segments of the weightlifters were significantly lower than those of the control group [ ( - 15.1 ± 4.2 ) % vs. ( - 18.7 ± 3.0 ) %, ( - 18.8 ± 2.6 ) % vs. ( - 21.3 ± 2.8 ) %, all P<0.05]. There was no significant difference in other segments. The athletes were divided into two groups according to their best performance in the National Youth Games. The athletes were divided into two sub-groups according to their performance in the National Youth Games. The thickness of the septum in the sub-group with better performance (who ranked the 1st to 8th) was larger [(10.2±1.1) mm vs. (8.5±1.0) mm, P<0.05], and the absolute value of the long-axis strain in the mid-inferoseptal segment was lower [ ( - 17.1 ± 2.1 ) % vs. ( - 20.4 ± 2.1 ) %, P<0.05]. Conclusion: The thickening of septum is more obvious in the excellent weightlifters, accompanied by the decrease of myocardial systolic function. The speckle-tracking technique of echocardiography can identify the changes of the heart structure and function of elite athletes at an early stage, which may provide a basis for sports medicine supervision and the selection of excellent talents.

Key words: Echocardiography, Athletes, Heart ventricles, Physical endurance

CLC Number: 

  • R540.45

Table 1

Subjects characteristics"

Items Weightlifters group, x ?±s Control group, x ?±s P value
Age/years 21±3 22±3 0.401
Height/cm 171.3±7.6 175.6±4.9 0.073
Weight/kg 91.0±20.8 70.0±10.4 0.002
BSA/m2 2.1±0.3 1.8±0.2 0.010
Training time/years 9±4
HR/(beat/min) 70±11 79±15 0.081

Table 2

Echocardiographic parameters of subjects"

Items Weightlifters group, x ?±s Control group, x ?±s P value
LVEDV/mL 115.6±23.7 96.9±22.7 0.033
LVEDVI/(mL/m2) 56.4±11.4 52.4±10.7 0.317
LVESV/mL 38.9±9.8 30.0±8.3 0.011
LVESVI/(mL/m2) 19.0±5.0 16.3±4.4 0.118
LVEF/% 66.4±3.8 68.8±5.3 0.166
LAESV/mL 54.6±11.4 49.8±12.1 0.269
LAESVI/(mL/m2) 26.2±5.3 26.9±6.2 0.739
SV/mL 76.7±15.3 66.9±16.9 0.103
CO/(L/min) 5.3±0.9 5.1±0.9 0.496
IVS/mm 9.3±1.3 8.0±0.4 0.001
LVPW/mm 9.2±0.8 8.0±0.8 0.001
RWT 0.38±0.05 0.34±0.03 0.018
LVM/g 159.8±27.8 125.2±25.0 0.001
LVMI/(g/m2) 77.8±12.8 67.8±11.2 0.029
LV average Sm/(cm/s) 10.7±1.9 13.0±1.6 0.001
LV average Em/(cm/s) 13.8±2.7 17.7±2.9 0.001
LV average Am/(cm/s) 8.2±2.5 9.2±1.4 0.211
Average E/Em 6.3±1.7 5.3±0.9 0.057
RV lateral Sm/(cm/s) 14.2±1.7 15.5±2.0 0.069
RV lateral Em/(cm/s) 13.4±2.8 16.0±3.7 0.043
RV lateral Am/(cm/s) 10.9±2.4 11.9±1.9 0.202

Table 3

Left ventricular longitudinal myocardial strain in subjects"

Segments Weightlifters group, x ?±s Control group, x ?±s P value
Basal anterior/% -13.9±8.9 -18.2±4.3 0.169
Mid-anterior/% -18.4±3.5 -20.3±3.6 0.216
Apical anterior/% -22.9±6.1 -23.9±5.6 0.693
Basal lateral/% -15.3±3.9 -16.1±2.9 0.584
Mid-lateral/% -17.5±2.7 -18.7±3.6 0.360
Apical lateral/% -22.4±4.6 -23.4±4.9 0.626
Basal inferior/% -18.7±2.9 -20.0±3.5 0.338
Mid-inferior/% -21.0±2.8 -22.4±4.3 0.344
Apical inferior/% -24.1±4.5 -25.2±5.1 0.596
Basal inferoseptal/% -16.1±2.6 -16.7±1.7 0.514
Mid-inferoseptal/% -18.8±2.6 -21.3±2.8 0.034
Apical septal/% -23.7±5.1 -26.1±4.8 0.261
Basal anteroseptal/% -15.1±4.2 -18.7±3.0 0.033
Mid-anteroseptal/% -19.2±4.8 -22.4±3.9 0.100
Basal posterior/% -15.4±4.6 -17.4±2.3 0.226
Mid-posterior/% -17.9±3.0 -19.7±2.3 0.121
Apical cap/% -23.2±4.5 -24.6±4.8 0.474
LVGLS/% -19.3±2.9 -20.8±3.1 0.234

Table 4

Echocardiographic parameters in weightlifters with different achievements"

Ranking 9 to 16, x ?±s Ranking 1 to 8, x ?±s P value
IVS/mm 8.5±1.0 10.2±1.1 0.012
LVPW/mm 9.1±0.7 9.2±0.9 0.767
LV average Sm/(cm/s) 10.9±1.8 10.4±2.4 0.661
LV average Em/(cm/s) 14.1±2.3 12.9±3.1 0.396
RV Em/(cm/s) 13.2±3.3 14.0±2.9 0.637
LVMI/(g/m2) 79.3±14.1 71.4±7.8 0.218
Mid-inferoseptal/% -20.4±2.1 -17.1±2.1 0.012
Basal anteroseptal/% -16.9±4.0 -13.4±4.0 0.133
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