Cardiac evaluation of women distance runners by echocardiographic color Doppler flow mapping.

Echocardiographic color Doppler flow mapping was performed in 46 normal women to determine the normal flow phenomena across each of the four heart valves. Three groups were studied: Group I consisted of 15 highly trained long distance runners, mean age 27 years, running an average of 105 km/week, with a mean rest heart rate of 45 beats/min; Group II consisted of 14 moderately trained long distance runners, mean age 28, running an average of 60 km/week, with a mean rest heart rate of 53 beats/min; Group III consisted of 17 sedentary control subjects, mean age 28, with a mean rest heart rate of 77 beats/min. Color Doppler flow mapping showed that the ventricular inflow and outflow patterns were the same for each of the groups and identified a regurgitant flow pattern across each of the valves. A tricuspid regurgitant flow pattern was present in 14 subjects (93%) in Group I, 8 (57%) in Group II and 4 (24%) in Group III. A pulmonary regurgitant flow pattern was present in 13 subjects (87%) in Group I, 8 (57%) in Group II and 3 (18%) in Group III. A mitral regurgitant flow pattern was present in 4 subjects (20%) in Group I, 5 (35%) in Group II and 1 (17%) in Group III and an aortic regurgitant flow pattern was present in 1 subject (6%) in Group I. Patients in Group I had significantly more tricuspid and pulmonary regurgitant flow patterns than did patients in Group III (p less than 0.001). Heart rate and distance training in women appear to correlate with the frequency of tricuspid and pulmonary regurgitant flow patterns.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)