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Aim: The objective was to assess left ventricular (LV) volumes at rest and during upright submaximal exercise in endurance athletes to see whether changes in heart volume could explain the large predicted increase in cardiac output in endurance athletes. Method: Contrast echocardiography was used to assess changes in LV volumes during upright bicycle exercise in 24 healthy male endurance athletes. Maximal oxygen uptake and oxygen pulse were measured by using cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Results: From rest to exercise at a heart rate of 160 beats min−1 end-diastolic volume increased by 18% (P < 0.001) and end-systolic volume decreased by 21% (P = 0.002). Stroke volume showed an almost linear increase during exercise (45% increase, P < 0.001). The increase in end-diastolic volume contributed to 73% of the increase in stroke volume. No significant differences were observed between stroke volume calculated from LV volumes with contrast echocardiography and stroke volume calculated from oxygen pulse at heart rates of 130 and 160 beats min−1. Using the linear regression equation between oxygen uptake and cardiac output assessed by echocardiography during exercise (r = 0.87, P = 0.002), cardiac output at maximal exercise was estimated at 33 ± 3 L min−1, with an estimated increase in stroke volume by 69% from rest to maximal exercise. Conclusion: By using contrast echocardiography, a large increase in stroke volume in endurance athletes could be explained by an almost linear increase in end-diastolic volume and an initial small decrease in end-systolic volume during incremental upright exercise.

Aim: The primary objective of the study was to measure the relative left ventricular volumes and the changes in left ventricular ejection fraction during supine position from rest to exercise in young endurance athletes. The secondary objective was to examine if there were gender differences regarding the volume reply and ejection fraction with exercise. Method: Sixty-five (35 female and 30 males) young healthy Swedish orienteers participated in the study. Left ventricular volume and ejection fraction changes between rest and submaximal supine bicycle exercise were measured with radionuclide ventriculography. Results: The mean left ventricular end-diastolic volume increased by 13% (P < 0.001) but there was no change in end-systolic volume. Stroke volume was found to increase by 21% (P < 0.001). Left ventricular ejection fraction increased significantly (>0.04 units) in 54% of the athletes from rest to exercise; 5% of the athletes showed a decrease in ejection fraction. A negative correlation was found between ejection fraction at rest and the difference in ejection fraction from rest to exercise (r = −0.38, P = 0.002). There were no gender differences in the left ventricular volume changes or ejection fraction. Conclusion: During submaximal supine exercise, the adjustments in cardiac volumes in endurance athletes were small. There were no gender disparities concerning the left ventricular volume reply during exercise.