Triathlon training shapes the heart
September 6, 2010
With the help of cardiac MR, German researchers have found out that he human heart adapts to triathlon training by developing greater muscle mass and wall thickness, as well as larger left atria and larger right and left ventricles.
The researchers carried out cardiac MR exams on 27 triathlon elite athletes and 27 controls, and measured the ejection fraction, myocardial mass, and atria and ventricles volumes. A comparison between triathlon athletes and the control group showed significant differences. The results of this study will be published in the October issue of Radiology (multicenter study led by researcher Michael Lell, MD, and colleagues at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Erlangen).
