Physiological hypertrophy of the heart and atrial natriuretic peptide during rest and exercise.

The influence of physiological cardiac hypertrophy on the concentration of plasma atrial natriuretic peptide was studied in six male athletes and six normally active, matched control men. They were examined by echocardiography during a graded exercise test on a bicycle ergometer. Plasma atrial natriuretic peptide was measured at rest, at each workload until exhaustion, and 15 and 30 minutes after the exercise test. Echocardiography showed that the athletes had a significantly larger left atrium, left ventricular end diastolic diameter, left ventricular posterior wall, interventricular septum, left ventricular ejection fraction, and left ventricular mass than the controls. The athletes performed significantly more work than the control group--325 W v 277 W. The plasma concentration of atrial natriuretic peptide rose by a mean factor of 2.76 (range 1.78-4.28) in all men from rest to maximum exercise. There were no differences between the athletes and the controls in the concentrations of plasma atrial natriuretic peptide at rest, at any workload, or at maximum workload. Neither was there any difference in the increase in plasma atrial natriuretic peptide between the groups. There was no correlation between the plasma concentrations of atrial natriuretic peptide and any of the variables measured by echocardiography. In healthy young men plasma atrial natriuretic peptide rises by a factor of about 2.8 during maximum exercise and the size of the chambers on the left side of the heart or left ventricular hypertrophy does not seem to influence the concentration of plasma atrial natriuretic peptide at rest or during exercise.