The athlete and the dilated left ventricle.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The differentiation of physiological left ventricular dilatation from pathological left ventricular dilatation in athletes.
IRAS ID
146683
Contact name
Lynne M Millar
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St. George's University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 3 months, 5 days
Research summary
Athletic training can lead to several changes in the heart particularly with regard to the heart size and the electrical pathways commonly referred to as the ‘athlete’s heart’. Some of these changes can overlap with abnormal heart conditions which can cause sudden death. It is extremely important to distinguish between these to prevent the unnecessary death of athletes but also to stop them from being wrongfully disqualified from sport. Some athletes, particularly those involved in endurance sports get dilatation of their heart chambers in response to regular exercise. Occasionally their hearts can appear not to be functioning normally at rest despite it pumping normally during exercise. These changes are also seen in a condition called ‘dilated cardiomyopathy’ which can cause the heart muscle to weaken and the heart to pump inefficiently.
In this study we would like to investigate the different factors that might help cardiologist distinguish between these two conditions, by performing several investigations. Firstly we would do an electrical tracing of the heart (known as an ECG), a specialist heart tracing (known as a signal averaged ECG) and a heart monitor for 24hours. We would take a 5ml blood sample (called a NT-proBNP) which gives us an indication of the heart function. We would perform an ultrasound of the heart (called an echocardiogram) looking at the heart structure and function. We will also perform a special exercise echocardiogram to see how the heart adapts to exercise and another special exercise test done on a bike with a breathing mask (called a cardiopulmonary exercise test). A MRI of the heart will be performed. This will provide more in detailed information about the heart structure.
Using this information we hope to come up with a set of guidelines that can be used when assessing athletes.
REC name
London - Chelsea Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/0245
Date of REC Opinion
24 Feb 2015
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion