Evaluation of left atrial structural and functional changes in amateur ultra-marathon athletes by three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography
10.3760/cma.j.cn131148-20240918-00492
- VernacularTitle:三维斑点追踪超声心动图评估业余超级马拉松运动员左心房结构和功能改变
- Author:
Li CHEN
1
;
Bo LI
1
;
Cunxin YANG
1
;
Limei LONG
1
;
Hebin ZHANG
1
;
Ying MA
1
Author Information
1. 杭州师范大学附属医院超声科，杭州 310015
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Echocardiography;
Ultra-marathon;
Left atrium;
Three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging;
Structure;
Function
- From:
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography
2025;34(2):122-128
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To evaluate the structural and functional changes of the left atrium in amateur ultra-marathon runners using ultrasound three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging technology.Methods:From June 2023 to June 2024，90 amateur marathon athletes were retrospectively recruited，including 44 amateur ultra-marathon（running distance ≥50 km）athletes（Ultra-marathon，UM group）and 46 amateur classic marathon（running distance<50 km）athletes（Marathon，M group）. Another 39 healthy volunteers who underwent physical examinations in Hangzhou Normal University Affiliated Hospital at the same time were selected as the control group. The distance，running age of amateur marathon runners were recorded. All subjects which underwent conventional echocardiography combined with three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography（3D-STE）obtained left atrial volume and functional parameters，including two-dimensional ultrasound indicators such as left atrial anterior posterior diameter（LAd），left ventricular end-diastolic diameter（LVEDd），left ventricular ejection fraction（LVEF），early diastolic peak velocity at the mitral valve orifice（E），and early diastolic peak velocity at the lateral mitral annulus（e'），E/e'，left atrial minimum，maximum，presystolic volumes（LAVmin，LAVmax，LAVpreA），left atrial maximum volume index（LAVImax），left atrial emptying volume（LAEV），overall left atrial ejection fraction，active and passive ejection fraction（LAEF，LAaEF，LApEF），left atrial expansion index（LAEI），left atrial reservoir period，conduit period，systolic long axis and circumferential strain（LASr，LAScd，LASct，LASr-c，LAScd-c，LASct-c）. The differences in left atrial parameters among three groups were compared and the relevant factors affecting LAEF were analyzed.Results:There were statistically significant differences in LAd，LVEDd，LAVmin，LAVmax，LAVpreA，LAVImax，and LAEV among the three groups（all P<0.05），and there were statistically significant differences in pairwise comparisons between the groups（all P<0.05）. Compared with the control group，LAEF，LApEF，LASr，LAScd，LASct，LASr-c，LAScd-c and LASct-c were significantly reduced in the M and UM groups（all P<0.05），while there were no statistically significant differences in these parameters between the UM and M groups（all P>0.05）；There were no statistically significant differences in IVSd，LVEF，E/e'，LAEI，and LAaEF among the 3 groups（all P>0.05）.There were no statistically significant differences in IVSd，LVEF，E/e'，LAaEF and LAEI among the 3 groups（all P>0.05）. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that only weekly running volume was an independent predictor of decreased LAEF in amateur marathon runners. The repeatability test indicated good consistency within and between observers. Conclusions:Amateur marathon runners have varying degrees of damage to their left atrial reservoir function，conduit function，and contraction function，with amateur ultra-marathon runners showing more significant damages，3D-STE technology can evaluate the structural and functional changes in the left atrium in amateur ultra-marathon athletes，and assist clinical understanding of atrial adaptation in amateur ultra- marathon athletes.
