The athlete’s heart: insights from echocardiography
H. M. Flanagan, Robert Cooper, Keith George, Daniel Augustine, Aneil Malhotra, Maria F. Paton, Shaun Robinson, David Oxborough
Abstract
The manifestations of the athlete's heart can create diagnostic challenges during an echocardiographic assessment. The classifications of the morphological and functional changes induced by sport participation are often beyond 'normal limits' making it imperative to identify any overlap between pathology and normal physiology. The phenotype of the athlete's heart is not exclusive to one chamber or function. Therefore, in this narrative review, we consider the effects of sporting discipline and training volume on the holistic athlete's heart, as well as demographic factors including ethnicity, body size, sex, and age.