Cardiac Biomarkers and Exercise Duration and Intensity During a Cycle-Touring Event

• Published in: Clinical journal of sport medicine Vol. 19; no. 4; pp. 293 - 299
• Main Authors: Serrano-Ostáriz, Enrique, Legaz-Arrese, Alejandro, Terreros-Blanco, José Luis, López-Ramón, Marta, Cremades-Arroyos, Daniel, Álvarez-Izquierdo, Silvia, Boscos-Terraz, Pilar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc 01-07-2009
• Subjects: Adult; Bicycling - physiology; Biomarkers - blood; Heart Injuries - diagnosis; Heart Injuries - physiopathology; Heart Rate; Humans; Middle Aged; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain - blood; Peptide Fragments - blood; Spain; Troponin I - blood; Spain
• ISSN: 1050-642X; 1536-3724
• DOI: 10.1097/JSM.0b013e3181ab3c9d

OBJECTIVE:To determine the influence of age, training status, race time, and exercise intensity on the appearance of cardiac biomarkers after a cycle-touring event.
DESIGN:Pre-post exercise measurements.
SETTING:University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
PARTICIPANTS:Ninety-one amateur cyclists.
INTERVENTION:The 2005 Quebrantahuesos cycle-touring event (distance206 km; altitude difference3800 m).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) were measured the day before and immediately after the race. Heart rate (HR) monitoring was performed on 55 cyclists during the race to evaluate exercise intensity.
RESULTS:cTnI and NT-pro-BNP were significantly elevated immediately post race, with 43% of participants exhibiting cTnI levels greater than 0.04 μg/L and 65% of the participants measuring NT-pro-BNP levels greater than 125 ng/L. The cTnI increase was significantly associated with mean exercise intensity HR (r = 0.36, P < 0.01) but was not associated with age, training status, or race time. The increase in NT-pro-BNP correlated with race time (r = 0.40, P < 0.001) and training status (r = −0.36, P < 0.001) but was not associated with age or exercise intensity HR measures.
CONCLUSIONS:These results suggest that, in part, exercise intensity (HR) is responsible for the cTnI increase and that race time is responsible for the increase in NT-pro-BNP. Future standardized endurance exercise trials are recommended to further elucidate the potentially differential effects of training status, exercise time, and intensity on post-exercise increases in cTnI and NT-pro-BNP.