Reverse Cardiac Remodeling Among Elite Athletes After Short and Long-term Detraining

Exercise has many well-documented effects in the prevention or treatment of disease, but recently some studies have raised awareness of the possible negative effects of too much exercise. In former elite endurance athletes, an increased risk of cardiac fibrosis and arrhythmias have been described. Whether exercise itself is the culprit remains to be explored. The right cardiac ventricle can be overloaded during long-term intense exercise, due to increased volume load and possibly an increased afterload. In a subgroub of athletes the appearance with morphological and functional changes resembling an ARVC like phenotype. Furthermore, atrial fibrillation among male middle-aged athletes is up to 5 times more common compared to age-matched non-athletes. The working hypothesis of this study is that male athletes remodel more than females and that some of thise changes are already measureable early after end of elite sporting carreer. In this prospective cohort study, of 50 elite athletes at retirement, after 3 months and thereafter yearly for five years, to determine the characteristics of remodeling of the heart focusing on the left atrial and right ventricle.