Cardiovascular response to sudden strenuous exercise : an exercise echocardiographic study

• Published in: Medicine and science in sports and exercise Vol. 29; no. 10; pp. 1299 - 1303
• Main Authors: CHESLER, R. M, MICHIELLI, D. W, ARON, M, STEIN, R. A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-10-1997
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Biological and medical sciences; Echocardiography; Exercise - physiology; Exercise Test; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Heart; Hemodynamics; Humans; Male; Space life sciences; Stroke Volume; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left - etiology; Ventricular Function, Left - physiology; Vertebrates: cardiovascular system; Heart; Physical exercise; Human; Dysfunction; Intensity; Bicycle ergometer; Contractility; Electrocardiography; Circulatory system; Left ventricle performance; Stress; Left ventricle
• ISSN: 0195-9131; 1530-0315
• DOI: 10.1097/00005768-199710000-00004

We studied the response in left ventricular (LV) internal dimensions and posterior wall thickness during the performance of sudden strenuous exercise without warm-up (SSE) and sudden strenuous exercise with warm-up (SSEw) in 15 healthy, untrained college-aged males (26 +/- 5.0 yr). Measurements of left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic dimension (LVESD), stroke dimension (SD = LVEDD-LVESD), fractional shortening (FS = SD/EDD) and posterior wall thickness (PWT) were obtained from continuous 2-D targeted on M-mode echocardiography. Continuous EKG and blood pressure were obtained at rest and during the final 10 s of SSE (30 s of upright leg cycle ergometry of 400 W at 80 rpm). SSEw was preceded by warm-up exercise (6 min of graded leg cycle exercise of 2-min stages initial load 30 W, increasing in 30-W increments at 60 rpm, followed immediately by SSE). Our findings revealed that there were no significant differences in the LV internal dimensions (LVEDD, LVESD, FS, PWT), HR max, RPP max, ECG, and MAP max between SSE and SSEw. Sudden strenuous exercise without warm-up is not associated with a reduced LV function. The results of this study are contradictory to previous findings that have suggested that SSE is associated with transient global left ventricular (LV) dysfunction.