Funktionsdiagnostik des gesunden und kranken Herzens, Beziehungen zwischen Herzgrösse und Leistung

Physical training improves the performance of the heart. Recent studies of Sjostrand and other Swedish physiologists have shown that training increases the stroke volume and the volume of the heart. This implies that a small but healthy heart functions inefficiently, and that a certain amount of cardiac dilatation and hypertrophy, induced by training, may be beneficial. Reindell and his colleagues from Heidelberg conclude that cardiac performance during strenuous exercise is a function of the heart volume. Therefore, they have correlated the heart volume with the blood pressure, heart rate, electrocardiogram, ventilation, and oxygen uptake per beat during exercise in a large number of healthy individuals and in cardiac patients. The monograph contains a large number of tables and graphs with the detailed results of these correlations in men and women of various ages. The authors estimate the heart volume at rest from the supine, anteroposterior, and lateral x-ray films of