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A comparison of cardiac structure and function between female powerlifters, fitness‐oriented athletes, and sedentary controls
Author(s) -
Radovanović Dragan,
Stoičkov Viktor,
Ignjatović Aleksandar,
Scanlan Aaron T.,
Jakovljević Vladimir,
Stojanović Emilija
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
echocardiography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1540-8175
pISSN - 0742-2822
DOI - 10.1111/echo.14842
Subject(s) - athletes , medicine , cardiology , diastole , physical fitness , diastolic function , physical therapy , blood pressure
Aim To compare echocardiographic parameters between female powerlifters, fitness‐oriented athletes, and sedentary controls. Methods A between‐subject, cross‐sectional experimental design was adopted. Echocardiographic parameters were measured in female powerlifters (n = 10; progressive overload 60%–95% of 1 repetition maximum [RM]), fitness‐oriented athletes (n = 10; 50%–70% of 1‐RM), and sedentary control subjects (n = 10). Comparisons were made with Kruskal‐Wallis tests, one‐way analyses of variance, and eta‐squared ( η 2 ) interpreted as small = 0.01–0.06, moderate = 0.061‐0.14, and large > 0.14. Results Large differences ( P > .05) were observed between resistance‐trained groups and sedentary controls, whereby relative wall thickness (RWT) and left ventricular (LV) index were greater in powerlifters (RWT: 0.40 ± 0.05, η 2 = 0.15; LV index: 95.6 ± 13.6 g/m 2 , η 2 = 0.15) and fitness‐oriented athletes (RWT: 0.40 ± 0.05, η 2 = 0.15; LV index: 97.9 ± 14.2 g/m 2 , η 2 = 0.20) compared to sedentary controls (RWT: 0.36 ± 0.05; LV index: 85.9 ± 10.3 g/m 2 ). Large differences were observed in intra‐ventricular septal wall thickness (ISWT) and late diastolic velocity (a') between groups, whereby powerlifters exhibited lower a' (8.6 ± 1.2 cm/s) compared to fitness‐oriented athletes (9.9 ± 0.9 cm/s, η 2 = 0.26, P = .04) and sedentary controls (9.6 ± 0.9 cm/s, η 2 = 0.19, P > .05), while fitness‐oriented athletes exhibited greater ISWT (10.1 ± 0.7 mm) compared to sedentary controls (9.4 ± 1.0 mm, η 2 = 0.16, P > .05). Conclusions Differences in cardiac structure between powerlifters, fitness‐oriented athletes, and sedentary controls suggest specific cardiac remodeling may occur in response to resistance training, without impairment of cardiac function.