Echocardiography-based structural and functional features and indicators of the left ventricular deformation in athletes

Objective: To study the effect of intense physical exertion on the normal physiology of the left ventricle (LV).Material and Methods. 146 professional athletes underwent a non-invasive assessment of LV systolic deformity in various directions. As a control group, 22 bowling athletes were surveyed.Results. In cyclists, eccentric hypertrophy of the LV myocardium was detected in 31.7% of men and in 29.5% of women. The values of global longitudinal strain were below 18% in male athletes from the cycling-BMX and cycling-highway groups (17.70±2.40% and 17.50±2.39%, respectively). Indicators of circular apical and circular global deformation were significantly lower in the group of cycling-BMX (men) compared with the corresponding values in the bowling group (14.50±6.23% and 14.70±6.42%; 18.40±6.32% and 16.90±6.43%, respectively, p