Jr. Schairer et al., LEFT-VENTRICULAR WALL TENSION AND STRESS DURING EXERCISE IN ATHLETES AND SEDENTARY MEN, The American journal of cardiology, 71(12), 1993, pp. 1095-1098
This investigation examines the hypothesis that hypertrophy attenuates
wall stress during exercise, when left ventricular wall tension is hi
ghest and most likely to contribute to hypertrophy. Upright bicycle ex
ercise was performed by 17 endurance-trained male athletes and 15 sede
ntary men. M-mode echocardiograms were obtained during submaximal exer
cise at predetermined heart rates. At all levels of exercise, at a mat
ched heart rate, wall tension was higher in athletes than in sedentary
subjects. In both groups, wall tension increased with exercise, then
plateaued. Wall stress did not differ significantly in athletes and se
dentary subjects at rest and at heart rates of 110 and 150 beats/min,
although a difference was observed at a heart rate of 130 beats/min. W
all stress decreased in both athletes and sedentary subjects with exer
cise. In conclusion, left ventricular hypertrophy caused wall stress i
n athletes to be maintained at values similar to sedentary subjects du
ring exercise as well as at rest.