ObjectiveTo verify if in male elite junior soccer players a minimum 1-month performance decrease is accompanied by a mood profile and hormone levels typical of non-functional over-reaching (NFOR).DesignA prospective case-control study using a monthly performance monitor with a standardised field test to detect the performance changes. Players with a performance ...

The aim of this paper is to clarify two important aspects about patients affected by congenital heart disease. Their functional status plays a dominant role in the definition of quality of life related to health status, because of its implication in working and recreational activities. In the first part, we ...

Acute kicking exercise induces collagen synthesis in both tendon and muscle in humans, but it is not known if this relates to increased collagen transcription and if other matrix genes are regulated. Young men performed 1 h of one-leg kicking at 67% of max workload. Biopsies were taken from the patellar ...

Obesity is a major public health concern on a global scale. Bariatric surgery is among the treatment options, resulting in significant and sustainable weight loss as well as amelioration of comorbidities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a 12-week aerobic exercise program positively impacts heart rate variability ...

It has been suggested that obese individuals have a blunted growth hormone (GH) response to spontaneous and stimulated GH secretion. The present study was designed to examine the effects of a high volume, whole body resistance acute exercise protocol on immunoreactive GH (iGH), bioactive GH (bGH) and growth hormone binding ...

: There is evolving evidence that intense exercise may place a disproportionate load on the right ventricle (RV) when compared with the left ventricle (LV) of the heart. Using a novel method of estimating end-systolic wall stress (ES-σ), we compared the RV and LV during exercise and assessed whether this ...

Migratory land birds perform extreme endurance flights when crossing ecological barriers, such as deserts, oceans and ice-caps. When travelling over benign areas, birds are expected to migrate by shorter flight steps, since carrying the heavy fuel loads needed for long non-stop flights comes at considerable cost. Here, we show that ...

There is a wealth of evidence showing that a moderate level of non-stop exercise improves the growth and feed conversion of many active fishes. A diverse number of active fish are currently being farmed, and an optimal level of exercise may feasibly improve the production efficiency of these species in ...

Background  We quantified baseline and observed change in peak VO(2) , quality of life, cardiac function, strength and energy intake following exercise training in hemodialysis (HD) patients and optimal exercise delivery for producing greatest adherence, safety and patient improvements. Methods  A systematic literature search was completed in August 2010 to ...

Aims Chronotropic incompetence (CI) is a common finding in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (CHF) and is associated with a worse functional capacity. Whether rate responsive pacing with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) would acutely improve exercise performance in patients with advanced CHF and severe CI (<70% age-predicted maximum heart ...

BACKGROUND: Chronic heart failure (HF) is a syndrome characterized by reduced cardiac output in relation to the metabolic needs of the organism, as well as metabolic and neurohormonal axis abnormalities. Symptoms such as fatigue and dyspnoea are notorious and stress tests are widely used to assess functional capacity, prognosis and ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effect of cigarette smoking on cardiac autonomic function in young adult smokers during dynamic exercise. Fourteen healthy young smokers (21.4 ± 3.4 years) performed peak and submaximal exercise protocols under control and smoking conditions. Resting and submaximal beat-to-beat R-R series were recorded ...

Inferior lead early repolarization pattern (ERP) recently has been associated with sudden cardiac death. Although ERP is common among athletes, prevalence, ECG lead distribution, clinical characteristics, and effects of physical training remain uncertain. We sought to examine the nonanterior ERP in competitive athletes. ERP was assessed in a cross-sectional cohort ...

Yeung JP, Human DG, Sandor GGS, De Souza AM, Potts JE. Serial measurements of exercise performance in pediatric heart transplant patients using stress echocardiography. Pediatr Transplantation 2011: 15: 265-271. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract:  Heart transplantation is an increasingly acceptable therapeutic option for children with end-stage and ...

Substantial evidence indicates that increased levels of physical activity, exercise training, and overall cardiorespiratory fitness provide protection in primary and secondary coronary heart disease (CHD) prevention. Clearly, cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training (CRET) programs have been greatly underused in patients with CHD. We review the benefits of formal CRET programs ...

The impact of intermittent exercise on cardiac biomarker release has not been clearly established. In experienced athletes, we examined the acute effect of a heavy resistance training session (n=18 males) and an indoor soccer match (n=21, 11 males, 10 females) on the release of cTnI, cTnT, and NT-proBNP. Biomarkers were ...

Heart transplantation (HT) is an attractive treatment for patients with terminal heart failure from a variety of causes. Survival at 1- and 5 years after HT averages 90% and 70%, respectively. The physiologic response to exercise is abnormal after HT presumably because the transplanted heart is surgically denervated, although a ...

The volume of literature attesting to the clinical benefits of exercise training in patients with stable chronic heart failure (CHF) is substantial. Training can improve symptoms and exercise capacity, as well as reducing morbidity, mortality, and rates of emergency hospitalization. These benefits are apparent in all patients with stable CHF, ...

Preliminary evidence suggests that meditative exercise may have benefits for patients with chronic systolic heart failure (HF); this has not been rigorously tested in a large clinical sample. We sought to investigate whether tai chi, as an adjunct to standard care, improves functional capacity and quality of life in patients ...

We sought to determine whether pharmacologic interventions changed exercise capacity, diastolic function, and mortality in a meta-analysis of trials in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Treatment strategies for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction remain unproven despite several large-scale trials. Trials were included in the systematic review where clear ...

BACKGROUND: The exercise treadmill test can be used in ventricular dysfunction patients for functional capacity or predicting prognosis. The cardiac image with 123I MIBG shows cardiac sympathetic activation. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between exercise treadmill test variables and cardiac image changes in 123I MIBG. METHODS: 23 patients with LVEF ...

PURPOSE:: This study examined the impact of two bouts of prolonged exercise performed on the same day on cardiac biomarkers and left ventricular (LV) function in trained adolescent runners. METHOD:: Twelve male adolescent runners (age 14.5 ±1.5 yr) performed two 45-min constant-load treadmill runs (RUN1 and RUN2), separated by 255 ...

We have investigated whether acute (swimming) exercise is sufficient to have sustained beneficial effects against cardiac functional decline observed after high-dose isoproterenol administration. Mice were subjected to one bout of swimming for 30 min ("swim" group). Twenty-four hours later, they were given isoproterenol (160 mg/kg) to cause injury. Two control groups were ...

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about triggers of sudden cardiac arrest. This study aimed to analyze the association of the occurrence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with patient activities just before the arrest and ambient temperature as one of the major environmental factors. METHODS: This prospective, population-based cohort study enrolled all ...

Power output and heart rate were monitored for 11 months in one female ([Vdot]O(2max): 71.5 mL · kg(-1) · min(-1)) and ten male ([Vdot]O(2max): 66.5 ± 7.1 mL · kg(-1) · min(-1)) cyclists using SRM power-meters to quantify power output and heart rate distributions in an attempt to assess exercise intensity and to relate training variables to performance. In total, ...

AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to study exercise-related cardiac arrests on the tennis court and investigate the impact of early initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation on survival rate and outcome. METHODS: This study was based on the cardiac arrest registry of the Department of Emergency Medicine ...

Exercise-induced cardiac hypertrophy has been recently identified to be regulated in a sex-specific manner. In parallel, women exhibit enhanced exercise-mediated lipolysis when compared to men, which might be linked to cardiac responses. The aim of the present study was to assess if previously reported sex-dependent differences in the cardiac hypertrophic ...

Background Recent studies have examined haemodynamic changes with stressors such as isometric handgrip and rapid atrial pacing in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), but little is known regarding left ventricular (LV) pressure-volume responses during dynamic exercise. Objective To assess LV haemodynamic responses to dynamic exercise in patients with ...

Objectives: To test the reliability of heart rate (HR) recommendations for cardiac rehabilitation training obtained from different treadmill tests. Background: For training in cardiac rehabilitation, HR recommendations are derived from cardio-pulmonary tests. Exercise intensity is often controlled through self-monitoring HR by the cardiac patients. Design: Non-randomized clinical trial. Methods: 25 ...

Impaired cardiac control of intracellular diastolic Ca(2+) gives rise to arrhythmias. Whereas exercise training corrects abnormal cyclic Ca(2+) handling in heart failure, the effect on diastolic Ca(2+) remains unstudied. Here, we studied the effect of exercise training on the generation and propagation of spontaneous diastolic Ca(2+) waves in failing cardiomyocytes. ...

Aims: To assess the prognostic value of an inconclusive exercise test or inability to exercise in patients with recent onset suspected cardiac chest pain and to determine the independent predictors of events in these patients. Methods: This was an observational follow-up study of patients presenting to a rapid access chest ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The effects of variations in exercise training on Left ventricular (LV) remodeling in patients shortly after Myocardial Infarction (MI) are important but poorly understood METHODS: Systematic review incorporating meta-analysis using meta-regression. Studies were identified via systematic searches of: OVID MEDLINE (1950 to 2009), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled ...

Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal disorder; however, little is known about the exercise tolerance of patients with this syndrome. The aim of the present study was to measure the maximal aerobic capacity and cardiac function using cardiopulmonary exercise testing and lung function tests and to evaluate the cardiac parameters ...

Studies have suggested that micronutrient deficiency has some role in the progression of chronic heart failure (CHF). Oral supplementation with coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10) ) and creatine may reduce mitochondrial dysfunction that contributes to impaired physical performance in CHF. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine the effect of ...

The European Society of Cardiology heart failure guidelines firmly recommend regular physical activity and structured exercise training (ET), but this recommendation is still poorly implemented in daily clinical practice outside specialized centres and in the real world of heart failure clinics. In reality, exercise intolerance can be successfully tackled by ...

BACKGROUND: Research has highlighted the benefits of physical activity for people with stable heart failure in improving morbidity and quality of life. However, adherence to exercise among this patient group is low. Barriers and enablers to sustained physical activity for individuals with heart failure have been little investigated. OBJECTIVES: To ...

The anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are all synthetic derivates of testosterone and are commonly used as sport performance enhancers in athletes. The heart is one of the organs most frequently affected by administration of anabolic steroids. A direct myocardial injury caused by AAS is supposed to determine marked hypertrophy in myocardial ...

We sought to determine the influence of exercise intensity on the release of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in amateur marathon runners. Fourteen runners completed three exercise trials of the same duration but at exercise intensities corresponding to: (a) a competitive marathon [mean ± SD: heart rate ...

INTRODUCTION: Strenuous exercise induces significant increases in cardiac biomarkers. However, it is still unclear whether this is caused by cardiomyocyte necrosis or secondary mechanisms such as ischemia, cardiac energy deficiency, increased inflammation, or renal dysfunction. METHODS: Therefore, we investigated cardiac biomarkers (hs-cTnT, NT-proBNP, h-FABP), inflammation markers (hs-CRP, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α) ...

The aim of this paper was to develop a model from experimental data allowing a prediction of the cardiopulmonary responses to steady-state submaximal exercise in varying gravitational environments, with acceleration in the G(z) axis (a (g)) ranging from 0 to 3 g. To this aim, we combined data from three different ...

This study sought to determine the influence of age on the left ventricular (LV) response to prolonged exercise (150 min). LV systolic and diastolic performance was assessed using echocardiography (ECHO) before (pre) and 60min following (post) exercise performed at 80% VO(2)max in young (28±4.5 years; n=18; mean±SD) and middle-aged (52±3.9 ...

Physical activity is one of the most important determinants of cardiac function. The ability of the heart to increase delivery of oxygen and metabolic fuels relies on an array of adaptive responses necessary to match bodily demand while avoiding exhaustion of cardiac resources. The ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channel has the ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between impairment in heart rate recovery (HR(rec)) after cycle ergometry and prognostic markers in patients with heart failure (HF) compared with healthy controls. METHODS: Fifty patients with chronic HF (systolic HF, N = 30; diastolic HF, N = 20; ...

James Tatoulis, Lyn Roberts and Anne-Marie Mackintosh argue that the Tick highlights healthier choices.

Rosemary Stanton believes that the Heart Foundation Tick program misguides consumers.

We focused on neurohumoral activity and its clinical correlates early and late after fenestrated, lateral intra-atrial total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC). Between 2007 and 2010, we prospectively studied 28 early and 48 late postoperative TCPC patients. Plasma concentrations of vasopressin, endothelin-1, proBNP, proANP were determined. We reviewed clinical data to determine ...

Background: The large randomized controlled multicentre clinical trial, HF-ACTION, recently demonstrated that a programme of recommendation of regular exercise training at moderate intensity is safe, improves quality of life, and reduces the combined endpoint of all-cause death and hospitalization in patients with chronic heart failure. However, the size of beneficial ...

Left ventricular performance is enhanced with chronic exercise training. Alterations in cardiomyocyte β-adrenergic responsiveness (BAR) may, in part, mediate this response. In this study, cardiac BAR and the expression of some key cardiac hypertrophic signaling molecules following 3 months of treadmill training were examined. Four-month old, female, Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats ...

The purpose of this study was to determine if pre-participation screening of athletes with a strategy including resting and exercise electrocardiography (ECG) reduces their risk for sudden death. An increasing number of countries mandate pre-participation ECG screening of athletes for the prevention of sudden death. However, the evidence showing that ...

Background: In chronic heart failure (CHF), cardiac cachexia is often associated with the terminal stage of this disease. In animal studies it has been demonstrated that myostatin, a key regulator of skeletal muscle mass, is elevated in advanced stages of this syndrome. Design: The aim of the present study was ...