Esportes

BACKGROUND: Differentiating physiological left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in athletes from pathological hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can be challenging. This study assesses the ability of cardiac MRI (CMR) to distinguish between physiological LVH (so-called athlete's heart) and HCM. METHODS: 45 patients with HCM (71% men and 20% athletic) and 734 healthy control participants (60% men and 75% athletic) underwent CMR. Quantitative ventricular parameters were used for multivariate logistic regression with age, gender, sport status and left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic volume (EDV) to ED ventricular wall mass (EDM) ratio as covariates...

BACKGROUND: Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography is an emerging modality for the assessment of systolic and diastolic myocardial deformation in a broad variety of clinical scenarios. However, normal values and physiologic limits of left ventricular strain and strain rate in trained athletes are largely undefined. METHODS: Two hundred consecutive Olympic athletes (grouped into skill, power, mixed, and endurance disciplines) and 50 untrained controls were evaluated by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography...

Cardiovascular physiologic remodeling associated with athleticism may mimic many of the features of genetic and acquired heart disease. The most pervasive dilemma is distinguishing between normal and abnormal physiologic remodeling in an athlete's heart. Imaging examinations, such as magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography, which focus predominantly on anatomy, and electrocardiography, which monitors electrical components, do not simultaneously evaluate cardiac anatomy and physiology. Despite nonlinear anatomic and electrical remodeling, the athlete's heart retains normal or supernormal myocyte function, whereas a diseased heart has various degrees of pathophysiology...

The incidence of cardiovascular disease in humans is more than three times that of many wild and domestic mammals despite nearly identical heart morphologies and responses to exercise. A survey of mammalian species from 0.002-kg shrews to 43,000-kg whales shows that the human heart is more dog-like than cat-like and that neither body size nor longevity accounts for the relative vulnerability to cardiovascular disease. Rather, a major difference is daily activity patterns, which may underlie the comparatively healthy hearts of wild mammals...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Patients with cardiovascular disease show autonomic dysfunction, including sympathetic activation and vagal withdrawal, which leads to fatal events. This review aims to place sympathovagal balance as an essential element to be considered in management for cardiovascular disease patients who benefit from a cardiac rehabilitation program. Many studies showed that exercise training, as non-pharmacologic treatment, plays an important role in enhancing sympathovagal balance and could normalize levels of markers of sympathetic flow measured by microneurography, heart rate variability or plasma catecholamine levels...

AIMS: Previous studies investigated the exercise-induced adaptation of left (LA) and right atrium (RA) in adults, but little is known about respective changes in the growing heart of children. We aimed to longitudinally investigate the effects of endurance training on biatrial remodelling in preadolescent athletes. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ninety-four children (57 endurance athletes, 37 sedentary controls; mean age 10.8±0.2 and 10.2±0.2years, respectively) were evaluated at baseline and after 5months by ECG and by two-dimensional, three-dimensional (3D) and speckle-tracking echocardiography...

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether being physically active can decrease Alzheimer disease (AD) risk. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: We conducted a meta-analysis of prospective observational cohort studies reporting the association between physical activity (PA) and incident AD. Relevant articles were identified by title and abstract in the electronic databases PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus using the keywords Alzheimer, Alzheimer disease, Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's disease, physical activity, sport, exercise, sedentary, fitness, and combinations thereof for articles published in any language up to February 15, 2016...

The most effective protocol for cardiovascular screening of competitive athletes remains highly controversial. This study was a prospective, multicenter trial of cardiovascular screening at 35 National Collegiate Athletic Association institutions. Screening included a standardized history and physical examination (PE) as recommended by the American Heart Association and a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) at rest. Centralized electrocardiographic interpretation was provided using the Seattle criteria. Athletes with screening abnormalities underwent additional evaluation directed by the host institution medical team...

Cyclists in the Tour de France are endurance specialists. Twin and family studies have shown that approximately 50% of the variance in a number of performance-related phenotypes (whether measured at baseline, i.e., natural talent, or in response to training) including those important to cycling can be explained by genetic variation. Research into the specific genetic variants that are responsible has identified over 200 genes containing common genetic variants involved in the genetic predisposition to physical performance...

BACKGROUND: Differences in baseline mortality, age structure, and influenza epidemics confound comparisons of cold-related increases in mortality between regions with different climates. The Eurowinter study aimed to assess whether increases in mortality per 1 degree C fall in temperature differ in various European regions and to relate any differences to usual winter climate and measures to protect against cold. METHODS: Percentage increases in deaths per day per 1 degree C fall in temperature below 18 degrees C (indices of cold-related mortality) were estimated by generalised linear modelling...

Regular intensive participation in sport results in electrical and structural alterations within the heart that can manifest on the surface electrocardiogram (ECG). In addition to the actual sporting discipline and the volume and intensity of exercise being performed, other factors play a role in the development of certain ECG patterns including sex, age, and ethnicity. In some instances, large male endurance athletes and those of African or Afro-Caribbean origin (black athletes), might exhibit ECG patterns that overlap with those seen in patients with cardiomyopathy and channelopathies, which are recognized causes of exercise-related sudden cardiac death...

Considerable evidence has established the link between high levels of physical activity (PA) and all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-specific mortality. Running is a popular form of vigorous PA that has been associated with better overall survival, but there is debate about the dose-response relationship between running and CVD and all-cause survival. In this review, we specifically reviewed studies published in PubMed since 2000 that included at least 500 runners and 5-year follow-up so as to analyze the relationship between vigorous aerobic PA, specifically running, and major health consequences, especially CVD and all-cause mortality...

: The objective of this study is to review the evidence for cardiovascular screening inclusive of an electrocardiogram (ECG) in young athletes. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in athletes is the leading cause of death during exercise and occurs at a rate that is substantially higher than initially recognized. There is widespread agreement that cardiovascular screening should be performed prior to athletic competition. The primary purpose of preparticipation cardiovascular screening is to identify athletes with conditions that predispose them to SCD...

There is a direct relationship between chronically elevated cholesterol levels (dyslipidaemia) and coronary heart disease. A reduction in total cholesterol is considered the gold standard in preventative cardiovascular medicine. Exercise has been shown to have positive impacts on the pathogenesis, symptomatology and physical fitness of individuals with dyslipidaemia, and to reduce cholesterol levels. The optimal mode, frequency, intensity and duration of exercise for improvement of cholesterol levels are, however, yet to be identified...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

CONTEXT: Sarcopenia is thought to be associated with mitochondrial (Mito) loss. It is unclear whether the decrease in Mito content is consequent to aging per se or to decreased physical activity. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to examine the influence of fitness on Mito content and function and to assess whether exercise could improve Mito function in older adults. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Three distinct studies were conducted: 1) a cross-sectional observation comparing Mito content and fitness in a large heterogeneous cohort of older adults; 2) a case-control study comparing chronically endurance-trained older adults and sedentary (S) subjects matched for age and gender; and 3) a 4-month exercise intervention in S...

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the single most common cause of death globally. However, with falling CHD mortality rates, an increasing number of people live with CHD and may need support to manage their symptoms and prognosis. Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) aims to improve the health and outcomes of people with CHD. This is an update of a Cochrane systematic review previously published in 2011. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of exercise-based CR (exercise training alone or in combination with psychosocial or educational interventions) compared with usual care on mortality, morbidity and HRQL in patients with CHD...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the comparative effectiveness of exercise versus drug interventions on mortality outcomes. DESIGN: Metaepidemiological study. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials with mortality outcomes comparing the effectiveness of exercise and drug interventions with each other or with control (placebo or usual care). DATA SOURCES: Medline and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, May 2013...