Release of cardiac biomarkers is common after strenuous endurance exercise, but data on intermittent exercise are scarce. It has not been investigated whether cardiac troponin elevation is influenced depending on the type of exercise that an athlete is adapted to perform. We hypothesized that intermittent but not continuous exercise induces cardiac troponin elevation in professional athletes adapted to high-intensity intermittent exercise.

To examine how training specificity impacts high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) release.

Nine professional floorball players participated in the study, which comprised two different exercise tests: a continuous incremental cycle ergometer test and a Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery 2 (Yo-Yo IR2) test. Serial assessment of hs-cTnT was performed after the cycle ergometer test and the Yo-Yo IR2 test (baseline, 0, 2, 6, and 24 h).

No hs-cTnT elevation above the myocardial damage cutoff (≥ 14 ng/L) was shown after the cycle ergometer test, whereas hs-cTnT levels rose over the cutoff in three of nine participants after the Yo-Yo IR2 test. The hs-cTnT levels peaked at 6 h after both tests, but were significantly higher after the Yo-Yo IR2 test compared to the cycle ergometer test (median hs-cTnT concentration 10.6 ng/L vs 7.8 ng/L, P = 0.038). All levels returned to baseline within 24 h.

In professional athletes adapted to high-intensity intermittent exercise, hs-cTnT was significantly elevated after intermittent but not continuous exercise. This principle of specificity training should be considered when designing future studies to avoid misinterpretation of hs-cTnT elevation.

The intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) was first introduced by Moulopoulos et al. in 1962 and was described clinically by Kantrowitz et al. in 1968. The subsequent development of the IABP has resulted in its widespread application, resulting in >70,000 applications per year, making it the most common cardiac assist device after pharmacologic intervention. The correct timing of the inflation and deflation of this device is critical to it being clinically advantageous to the patient. The purpose of this study was primarily to examine the Datascope CS100 automated timing of inflation and deflation, and secondarily, to create an awareness of the risks of solely relying on technology for patient treatment decisions in lieu of clinical evaluative skills. Timing data were collected from 165 IABP patients from January 1, 2003 to March 31, 2005 using the Datascope series System 97, System 98, and CS100 IABP consoles. Timing criteria used in the evaluation of the IABP in this study included proper inflation, defined as inflation at the dicrotic notch of arterial pressure waveform, and proper deflation, resulting in a presystolic decrease of diastolic pressure by 5-10 mmHg. These parameters were evaluated by examining a printed strip from the IABP console after timing selection stabilization. Before implementation of the CS100, 78.6% of inflations and 53.6% of deflations were correct when using the criteria listed above. After implementation of the CS100, 83.3% of inflations were correct and 44.4% of deflations were correct. Although improvement in consistency of IABP inflation quality was observed, a net decrease in the quality of IABP deflations was also observed. Total reliance on the autotiming operation mode of the CS100 may not be warranted, and imposing clinical judgment in therapeutic application is necessary to avoid dangerous timing errors. An awareness of the dangers of solely relying on technology for patient treatment decisions vs. the use of technology combined with clinical evaluative skills for assessing therapeutic intervention to improve patient care is discussed.

The training of competitive athletes can be assessed by retrospective questionnaires, diaries, physiological monitoring and direct observation of training behaviour. Questionnaires represent the most economical, most comprehensive and least accurate method. Diaries are more valid, but their drawbacks for long term quantitative studies are poor compliance and difficulties in processing the data they generate. Physiological monitoring (of oxygen consumption, heart rate or blood lactate concentration) provides objective measures of training intensity, and direct observation gives valid measures of most aspects of training; however, these methods are impractical for continuous, long term use. Coaches and athletes quantify training for purposes of motivation, systematisation of training and training prescription, but there has been little study of the use of training quantification by these practitioners. Motivation and systematisation are probably achieved best with diaries. Direct observation appears to be the best method of ensuring compliance with a training prescription, although heart rate monitoring is also a promising method for prescribing endurance training intensity. Sport scientists quantify training to study its effects on the performance and health status of competitive athletes. Most studies have been descriptive rather than experimental, and unvalidated questionnaires have been the predominant method of assaying training. The main areas of research include performance prediction and enhancement, overtraining, reproductive dysfunction, injury, illness, and nutritional status. Training has substantial effects in all of these areas. There is a need for more experimental studies that utilise validated measures of training to investigate how to reduce sports injuries and enhance competitive sports performance. More attention could also be given to methodological issues of training quantification.