Published in

MDPI, Journal of Clinical Medicine, 24(12), p. 7678, 2023

DOI: 10.3390/jcm12247678

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Exercise Stress Echocardiography in Athletes: Applications, Methodology, and Challenges

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Postprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Published version: archiving allowed
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

This comprehensive review explores the role of exercise stress echocardiography (ESE) in assessing cardiovascular health in athletes. Athletes often exhibit cardiovascular adaptations because of rigorous physical training, making the differentiation between physiological changes and potential pathological conditions challenging. ESE is a crucial diagnostic tool, offering detailed insights into an athlete’s cardiac function, reserve, and possible arrhythmias. This review highlights the methodology of ESE, emphasizing its significance in detecting exercise-induced anomalies and its application in distinguishing between athlete’s heart and other cardiovascular diseases. Recent advancements, such as LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) and myocardial work (MW), are introduced as innovative tools for the early detection of latent cardiac dysfunctions. However, the use of ESE also subsumes limitations and possible pitfalls, particularly in interpretation and potential false results, as explained in this article.