Left ventricular morphology and geometry in élite athletes characterised by extreme anthropometry

Eleonora Moccia; Harshil Dhutia; Aneil Malhotra; Efstathios Papatheodorou; Elijah Behr; Rajan Sharma; Michael Papadakis; Sanjay Sharma; Gherardo Finocchiaro

doi:10.1016/j.hjc.2024.06.007

Left ventricular morphology and geometry in élite athletes characterised by extreme anthropometry

Hellenic J Cardiol. 2024 Jul 6:S1109-9666(24)00131-3. doi: 10.1016/j.hjc.2024.06.007. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Eleonora Moccia¹, Harshil Dhutia², Aneil Malhotra², Efstathios Papatheodorou², Elijah Behr², Rajan Sharma², Michael Papadakis², Sanjay Sharma², Gherardo Finocchiaro²

Affiliations

¹ Cardiology Unit, San Francesco Hospital, Nuoro, Italy; Cardiovascular Sciences Research Centre, Cardiology Clinical Academic Group, St George's University of London, London, UK. Electronic address: e.moccia@studenti.uniss.it.
² Cardiovascular Sciences Research Centre, Cardiology Clinical Academic Group, St George's University of London, London, UK.

PMID: 38972547
DOI: 10.1016/j.hjc.2024.06.007

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the individual impact of BMI and height on LV size and geometry in a cohort of healthy athletes.

Methods: From a total cohort of 1857 healthy élite athletes (21 ± 5 years, males 70%) investigated with ECG and echocardiogram, we considered three groups: Group 1 n = 50: BMI ≥ 30 and height < 1.90 m; Group 2 n = 87: height ≥ 1.95 m and BMI < 30; control Group 3 n = 243: height < 1.90 m and BMI = 20-29.

Results: BSA was ≤2.3 m² in 52% of athletes in group 1 and 47% of athletes in group 2. Athletes in group 1 and in group 2 showed an enlarged LV end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) (57 ± 6 vs 57 ± 4 vs 53 ± 4 mm in Group 3); 50% of athletes in group 1 and 38% of athletes in group 2 exhibited a LVEDD > 57 mm (p = 0.23). LV wall thickness was higher in group 1 (11 ± 1 vs 10 ± 2 mm in Group 2, p = 0.001). Concentric hypertrophy or concentric remodelling was found in 20% of athletes in group 1 vs 7% of athletes in group 2 (p = 0.04). Athletes of group 1 with BSA ≤ 2.3 m² showed lower LVEDD (53 ± 5 vs 60 ± 5 mm, p < 0.001), similar LV wall thickness (10 ± 1 vs 11 ± 1 mm, p = 0.128) and higher prevalence of concentric hypertrophy or concentric remodelling (31% vs 8%, p = 0.04) compared to those with BSA > 2.3 m².

Conclusion: Athletes with high BMI have similar LV dimensions but greater wall thickness and higher prevalence of concentric remodelling compared to very tall athletes. Athletes with high BMI and large BSA have the widest LV dimensions.

Keywords: Athlete’s heart; Cardiomyopathy; Extreme anthropometry.