Cardiac damage in athlete’s heart: When the “supernormal” heart fails!

Figure 1 The figure shows the Laplace relationship: The pressure (P) generated in a sphere is directly proportional to the wall tension (T) and inversely related to the radius of the sphere (r).

Figure 2 Standard B-mode echocardiography of endurance athlete showing enlargement of left ventricular (A), left atrial (B) and right ventricular (C) chambers, as well as inferior cavae vein dilatation (D) (arrows). LV: Left ventricular.

Figure 3 Different characteristics of physiological remodeling and pathological condition of the left ventricle. LV: Left ventricular; LVNC: LV noncompaction.

Figure 4 Cardiac magnetic resonance depicting in short-axis (A) and long-axis (B) view balanced biventricular enlargement in endurance athlete.

Figure 5 Non-invasive evaluation of power athlete abusing of steroids. Standard M-mode (A) and 4-chamber view B-mode (B) echocardiography, evidencing sever left ventricular hypertrophy, with diastolic dysfunction (C) underlined by Doppler transmitral flow pattern. Cardiac magnetic resonance confirmed severe left ventricular hypertrophy (D).

Figure 6 The management of athlete’s heart. The figure shows an algorithm to distinguish athlete’s heart from pathological conditions. ARVC: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy; ECG: Electrocardiograph; MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.