Siddharth J Trivedi1,2, Guido Claessen3,4,5, Luke Stefani1, M Darragh Flannery3,6, Paula Brown1, Kristel Janssens3, Adrian Elliott7,8, Prashanthan Sanders7,8, Jonathan Kalman6,9, Hein Heidbuchel10, Liza Thomas1,2,11, Andre La Gerche3,4,6,12. 1. Department of Cardiology, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia. 2. Westmead Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. 3. Sports Cardiology Lab, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia. 4. Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. 5. University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. 6. Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. 7. South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia. 8. Department of Cardiology, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia. 9. Department of Cardiology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. 10. Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium. 11. South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. 12. National Centre for Sports Cardiology, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Fitzroy, Australia.
Abstract
AIMS: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is more common in athletes and may be associated with adverse left atrial (LA) remodelling. We compared LA structure and function in athletes and non-athletes with and without AF. METHODS AND RESULTS: Individuals (144) were recruited from four groups (each n = 36): (i) endurance athletes with paroxysmal AF, (ii) endurance athletes without AF, (iii) non-athletes with paroxysmal AF, and (iv) non-athletic healthy controls. Detailed echocardiograms were performed. Athletes had 35% larger LA volumes and 51% larger left ventricular (LV) volumes vs. non-athletes. Non-athletes with AF had increased LA size compared with controls. LA/LV volume ratios were similar in both athlete groups and non-athlete controls, but LA volumes were differentially increased in non-athletes with AF. Diastolic function was impaired in non-athletes with AF vs. non-athletes without, while athletes with and without AF had normal diastolic function. Compared with non-AF athletes, athletes with AF had increased LA minimum volumes (22.6 ± 5.6 vs. 19.2 ± 6.7 mL/m2, P = 0.033), with reduced LA emptying fraction (0.49 ± 0.06 vs. 0.55 ± 0.12, P = 0.02), and LA expansion index (1.0 ± 0.3 vs. 1.2 ± 0.5, P = 0.03). LA reservoir and contractile strain were decreased in athletes and similar to non-athletes with AF. CONCLUSION: Functional associations differed between athletes and non-athletes with AF, suggesting different pathophysiological mechanisms. Diastolic dysfunction and reduced strain defined non-athletes with AF. Athletes had low atrial strain and those with AF had enlarged LA volumes and reduced atrial emptying, but preserved LV diastolic parameters. Thus, AF in athletes may be triggered by an atrial myopathy from exercise-induced haemodynamic stretch consequent to increased cardiac output. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved.
AIMS: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is more common in athletes and may be associated with adverse left atrial (LA) remodelling. We compared LA structure and function in athletes and non-athletes with and without AF. METHODS AND RESULTS: Individuals (144) were recruited from four groups (each n = 36): (i) endurance athletes with paroxysmal AF, (ii) endurance athletes without AF, (iii) non-athletes with paroxysmal AF, and (iv) non-athletic healthy controls. Detailed echocardiograms were performed. Athletes had 35% larger LA volumes and 51% larger left ventricular (LV) volumes vs. non-athletes. Non-athletes with AF had increased LA size compared with controls. LA/LV volume ratios were similar in both athlete groups and non-athlete controls, but LA volumes were differentially increased in non-athletes with AF. Diastolic function was impaired in non-athletes with AF vs. non-athletes without, while athletes with and without AF had normal diastolic function. Compared with non-AF athletes, athletes with AF had increased LA minimum volumes (22.6 ± 5.6 vs. 19.2 ± 6.7 mL/m2, P = 0.033), with reduced LA emptying fraction (0.49 ± 0.06 vs. 0.55 ± 0.12, P = 0.02), and LA expansion index (1.0 ± 0.3 vs. 1.2 ± 0.5, P = 0.03). LA reservoir and contractile strain were decreased in athletes and similar to non-athletes with AF. CONCLUSION: Functional associations differed between athletes and non-athletes with AF, suggesting different pathophysiological mechanisms. Diastolic dysfunction and reduced strain defined non-athletes with AF. Athletes had low atrial strain and those with AF had enlarged LA volumes and reduced atrial emptying, but preserved LV diastolic parameters. Thus, AF in athletes may be triggered by an atrial myopathy from exercise-induced haemodynamic stretch consequent to increased cardiac output. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved.
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