Publication
Title
Exercise cardiac magnetic resonance to differentiate athletes heart from structural heart disease
Author
Abstract
Aims The distinction between left ventricular (LV) dilation with mildly reduced LV ejection fraction (EF) in response to regular endurance exercise training and an early cardiomyopathy is a frequently encountered and difficult clinical conundrum. We hypothesized that exercise rather than resting measures would provide better discrimination between physiological and pathological LV remodelling and that preserved exercise capacity does not exclude significant LV damage. Methods and results We prospectively included 19 subjects with LVEF between 40 and 52%, comprising 10 ostensibly healthy endurance athletes (EA-healthy) and nine patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). In addition, we recruited five EAs with a region of subepicardial LV. Receiver operating characteristic fibrosis (EA-fibrosis). Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging was performed at rest and during supine bicycle exercise. Invasive afterload measures were obtained to enable calculations of biventricular function relative to load (an estimate of contractility). In DCM and EA-fibrosis subjects there was diminished augmentation of LVEF (5 ± 6% vs. 4 ± 3% vs. 14 ± 3%; P = 0.001) and contractility [LV end-systolic pressurevolume ratio, LVESPVR; 1.4 (1.31.6) vs. 1.5 (1.31.6) vs. 1.8 (1.72.7); P < 0.001] during exercise relative to EA-healthy. Receiver-operator characteristic curves demonstrated that a cut-off value of 11.2% for ΔLVEF differentiated DCM and EA-fibrosis patients from EA-healthy [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.92, P < 0.001], whereas resting LVEF and VO2max were not predictive. The AUC value for LVESPVR ratio was similar to that of ΔLVEF. Conclusions Functional cardiac evaluation during exercise is a promising tool in differentiating healthy athletes with borderline LVEF from those with an underlying cardiomyopathy. Excellent exercise capacity does not exclude significant LV damage.
Language
English
Source (journal)
European heart journal : cardiovascular Imaging. - Oxford, 2012, currens
Publication
Oxford : Oxford university Press , 2018
ISSN
2047-2404
2047-2412
DOI
10.1093/EHJCI/JEY050
Volume/pages
19 :9 (2018) , p. 1062-1070
ISI
000449460000016
Pubmed ID
29590340
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 11.10.2018
Last edited 09.10.2023
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