Echo-Doppler Assessment of Myocardial Structure and Function of Australia's National Triathlete Team

Previous investigations on performance in triathletes has primarily focused upon maximal oxygen consumption and systolic performance of the myocardium. In this study, we have investigated the effects of high-level participation in Australia's Triathletes upon myocardial diastolic function. A total of 22 elite Australian triathlete team members were compared to healthy, age-gender-matched sedentary controls. Utilizing doppler echocardiography, triathletes had a significantly greater 1/3rd diastole (+25.0%), left ventricular outflow (+66.4%) and Peak E (+35.1%) than sedentary controls. Additionally, triathletes had less of a contribution from atrial systole to total area as compared to controls (13.33% versus 20.28%, respectively). The results of this research demonstrate that elite triathletes involved in high-intensity training resulted in sports-specific myocardial adaptation to diastolic function, which would be advantageous to performance.