David C Peritz1, Anna B Catino2, Ibolya Csecs3, Gagandeep Kaur3, Mobin Kheirkhahan3, Bosten Loveless3, Stephen Wasmund3, Eugene Kholmovski4, Alan Morris3, Nassir F Marrouche5. 1. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center Department of Cardiovascular Medicine Heart and Vascular Center, Lebanon, NH. Electronic address: David.C.Peritz@hitchcock.org. 2. University of Utah Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT. 3. Comprehensive Arrhythmia Research & Management Center (CARMA) University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. 4. University of Utah Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Salt Lake City, UT. 5. Comprehensive Arrhythmia Research & Management Center (CARMA) University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Tulane University Heart and Vascular Institute, New Orleans, LA.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Endurance athletes are at higher risk for developing atrial fibrillation as compared to the general population. The exact mechanism to explain this observation is incompletely understood. Our study aimed to determine whether degree of left atrial fibrosis detected by late gadolinium-enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-MRI) differed between Masters athletes and non-athlete controls. METHODS: We recruited 20 endurance healthy Masters athletes and 20 healthy control subjects who underwent cardiac MRI. Healthy controls were recruited during screening colonoscopies and Masters athletes were recruited through word of mouth and at competitions. The two groups were age and gender matched. None of the participants were known to have an arrhythmia. Fibrosis, as measured by late gadolinium-enhancement, was measured in each participant by blinded readers. The degree of left atrial fibrosis was compared between the two groups. All participants were recruited from the Salt Lake City region and scanned at the University of Utah healthcare complex. RESULTS: Left ventricular function was normal in all study participants. Left atrial volumes were significantly larger in the athletes (74.2 ml ± 14.4) as compared to the healthy control subjects (60.8 mL ± 21.4) (P = .02). Mean left atrial fibrosis score, reported as a percentage of the LA, was 15.5% ± 5.9 in the athlete cohort compared to 9.6% ± 4.9 in the controls (P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge this is the first study that describes, characterizes and specifically quantifies fibrotic changes within the left atrium of highly trained endurance athletes. Increased atrial fibrosis seen in this population may be an early indicator for endurance athletes at risk of developing atrial arrhythmias.
INTRODUCTION: Endurance athletes are at higher risk for developing atrial fibrillation as compared to the general population. The exact mechanism to explain this observation is incompletely understood. Our study aimed to determine whether degree of left atrial fibrosis detected by late gadolinium-enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-MRI) differed between Masters athletes and non-athlete controls. METHODS: We recruited 20 endurance healthy Masters athletes and 20 healthy control subjects who underwent cardiac MRI. Healthy controls were recruited during screening colonoscopies and Masters athletes were recruited through word of mouth and at competitions. The two groups were age and gender matched. None of the participants were known to have an arrhythmia. Fibrosis, as measured by late gadolinium-enhancement, was measured in each participant by blinded readers. The degree of left atrial fibrosis was compared between the two groups. All participants were recruited from the Salt Lake City region and scanned at the University of Utah healthcare complex. RESULTS: Left ventricular function was normal in all study participants. Left atrial volumes were significantly larger in the athletes (74.2 ml ± 14.4) as compared to the healthy control subjects (60.8 mL ± 21.4) (P = .02). Mean left atrial fibrosis score, reported as a percentage of the LA, was 15.5% ± 5.9 in the athlete cohort compared to 9.6% ± 4.9 in the controls (P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge this is the first study that describes, characterizes and specifically quantifies fibrotic changes within the left atrium of highly trained endurance athletes. Increased atrial fibrosis seen in this population may be an early indicator for endurance athletes at risk of developing atrial arrhythmias.
Authors: Volker Scheer; Nicholas B Tiller; Stéphane Doutreleau; Morteza Khodaee; Beat Knechtle; Andrew Pasternak; Daniel Rojas-Valverde Journal: Sports Med Date: 2021-09-20 Impact factor: 11.928
Authors: Grace Fletcher; Aniqa B Alam; Linzi Li; Faye L Norby; Lin Y Chen; Elsayed Z Soliman; Alvaro Alonso Journal: BMC Cardiovasc Disord Date: 2022-04-26 Impact factor: 2.174