THE EFFECT OF SELECTED AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC SPORTS ON STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN HEART WALLS AND CAVITIES

Abstract

The use of echocardiography has created a possibility for cardiologists to assess the athletic heart. Findings indicate that sport causes cardiac hypertrophy, but changes in the heart have different aspects. Now it is clear that elite endurance champions display larger cavity dimensions during diastole, and increased left ventricle mass. Theory describes heart dimension changes as a result of the type and intensity of physical activity. Extensive studies in the area indicate that regular exercise effects heart size increase. Forty elite male athletes, from wrestling, karate, kanopolo, rowing, and ten healthy males as controls, all aged between 26-30 years of age, were the subjects of the study. The athletes were being trained in training camps. A questionnaire about sport experience information, daily exercise duration and possible drug usage was answered. Echocardiography revealed significant (p<0.05) differences among athletes and controls in terms of interventricular septum (IVS) and posterior wall thicknesses (PWT), end diastolic (EDD) and end systolic dimensions (ESD) in the left ventricle (LV).