PURPOSE

Left atrial (LA) contraction is essential for left ventricular (LV) filling during exertion. We sought to evaluate the relationship of LA contraction and exercise capacity in trained athletes.

METHODS

Sixteen male marathon runners were recruited and allocated into two groups according to their previous training status (≥ or < 100 km peer week). All subjects underwent a baseline cardiopulmonary test to evaluate maximal aerobic capacity and a transthoracic echocardiography previous and immediate post-marathon. LA contractile function evaluation was accomplished by measuring the negative deformation of the post P wave strain curve (LASa). LASa change was defined as LASa pre-marathon minus LASa immediate post-marathon.

RESULTS

Mean age was 39 ± 6 years. LA volume index (39 ± 13 vs. 31 ± 5 mL/m, p = 0.04), LV mass index (91 ± 21 vs. 73 ± 12 g/m, p = 0.04), VO max (59 ± 3 vs. 50 ± 8 mL/kg/min, p = 0.036) were higher in more intensive trained group and marathon time was lower (185 ± 14 vs. 219 ± 24 min, p = 0.017). An increase in LASa after immediate post-marathon was observed in both groups, which was significantly greater in the highly trained group (18.9 ± 5.8 vs. 6.3 ± 3.5%, p < 0.003). Maximum VO measured previous to the marathon was inversely related to marathon time and directly correlated to LASa change (rho = 0.744, p = 0.001, rho = 0.546, p = 0.028, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Athletes with more intensive training load have larger LV mass and LA size. An increase in LA contraction was seen post-marathon, which was significantly greater in the highly trained group. This increase in the LA contraction was related to the maximum VO measured previous to the marathon and to performance in a highly demanding test.