Athletic heart syndrome

It is important to distinguish the athlete’s beneficial cardiac adaptive changes from pathologic entities such as hypertrophic, arrhythmogenic, or other cardiomyopathies that are associated with SCD.

Athletic heart syndrome – Important findings

  • Seen in intensive athletic training
  • Non-pathological condition
  • Human heart is enlarged,
  • Resting heart rate is lower than normal
  • Absolute wall thicknesses greater than 15 mm are unusual even in elite athletes and should trigger further investigation for HCM, especially if the hypertrophy is asymmetric
  • Family history – not present for Athletic heart syndrome
  • Deconditioning -Heart size regress

Which of the following in athlete’s heart syndrome is not considered normal –

A. Eccentric hypertrophy

B. Bradycardia

C. S3 gallop

D. S4 gallop

Left ventricular hypertrophy

  • Athletic heart syndrome – < 13 mm
  • HCM > 15 mm

Diastolic dysfunction

  • Athletes – Normal or even supranormal (higher E’ velocities and transmitral E/A >2) in athletes
  • HCM – Diastolic dysfunction is present in HCM patients

Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter

  • Athletic heart syndrome – < 60 mm
  • HCM – > 70 mm

Septal hypertrophy

  • Athletic heart syndrome – Symmetric
  • HCM – Asymmetric

Athletic heart syndrome

Clinical Question-8 – Medicine Question Bank
Contents1 ECG2 Coronary Angiogram3 Echocardiogram4 Next day patient … Clinical Question-8 Read More »