The beneficial effect of low-intensity exercise on cardiac performance assessed by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography

Background Regular physical activity is associated with cardiovascular health; however, intensive exercise can have harmful effects on the heart. Two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a well-established diagnostic tool to evaluate subclinical myocardial dysfunction and has been widely used in athletes in recent years. This study is designed to evaluate whether low-intensity exercise has beneficial effects on myocardial performance. We aimed to evaluate systolic and diastolic functions of myocardium derived from STE in sports practitioners in a low-intensity exercise training program. Method Eighty-four sports practitioners and eighty-two sedentary healthy controls were prospectively included in our study. In addition to standard 2D echocardiographic measurements, left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS), right ventricular (RV) GLS, RV-free wall strain (FWS), left atrium (LA) strain, and strain rate were analyzed. Results Mean LV GLS was significantly higher in sports practitioners compared with sedentary population (-19.21 +/- 2.61% vs -18.37 +/- 2.75%,P = .044). RV GLS was significantly higher in sports practitioners than sedentary population (-21.82 +/- 4.86% vs -20.04 +/- 4.62%,P = .016). Longitudinal strain and strain rate of LA conduit phase were significantly higher in sports practitioners than sedentary participants (-23.60 +/- 6.83% vs -20.20 +/- 6.64%,P = .001; -2.45 +/- 0.81 L/s vs -2.10 +/- 0.89 L/s,P = .010; respectively). Also, LA conduit phase strain/contraction phase strain and conduit phase strain rate/contraction phase strain rate ratios were higher in sports practitioners (1.88 +/- 0.93 vs 1.48 +/- 0.63,P = .001; 1.42 +/- 0.65 vs 1.16 +/- 0.53,P = .005; respectively). Conclusion The findings in the current study suggest that regular low-intensity exercise may have a beneficial effect on both systolic and diastolic functions of the myocardium.