Premium
Cardiovascular responses to endurance training in children: effect of gender
Author(s) -
Obert P.,
Mandigouts S.,
Nottin S.,
Vinet A.,
N’Guyen L. D.,
Lecoq A. M.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2362.2003.01118.x
Subject(s) - medicine , endurance training , stroke volume , diastole , cardiology , physical therapy , vo2 max , blood pressure , cardiac function curve , cardiac output , heart rate , heart failure
Background The aim of the present study was to determine in healthy children the effect of a well‐controlled endurance training programme on cardiac function at maximal exercise and to define whether gender affects the training‐induced cardiovascular response. The contribution of factors potentially involved in those adaptations such as cardiac dimensions and diastolic and systolic function was also investigated. Methods Thirty‐five l0–11‐year‐old children took part in this study: 19 children (10 girls and nine boys) were assigned to participate in a 13‐week endurance training programme (3 × 1 h week −1 , intensity: > 80% HR max), and 16 (seven girls and nine boys) served as a control group. A resting echocardiographic evaluation and a maximal upright cycle test, including measurement of stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (Q) and blood pressure, were performed in all children before and after the study period. Results The training programme led to a rise in maximal O 2 uptake (V̇O 2max ), brought about however, only by an increase in SV max in both genders. Moreover, the boys increased their V̇O 2max to a greater extent than the girls (boys: +15%; girls: +8%) only because of a higher SV max improvement (boys: +15%; girls: +11%). No alterations were noticed in the SV pattern from rest to maximal exercise, indicating that the increase in SV rest was a key factor in the improvement of SV max and thus V̇O 2max . Regarding resting echocardiographic data, an increase in the left ventricular end‐diastolic diameter, concomitant with an improvement in diastolic function, was observed after training and constituted an essential element in the rise in V̇O 2max after training in these children. Moreover, during maximal exercise, a decrease in systemic vascular resistances, probably indicating peripheral cardiovascular adaptive changes, might also play an important role in the increase in V̇O 2max . Conclusion Whatever gender, aerobic training increases V̇O 2max in children, mediated by an improvement in SV max only. Similar mechanisms, including loading conditions and cardiac morphology, seem to be involved in both genders in order to explain such an improvement.