Myocardial fibrosis in athletes—Current perspective
Łukasz A. Małek, Chiara Bucciarelli‐Ducci
Abstract
Several previous studies suggested that prolonged and extensive physical activity might lead to increased prevalence of myocardial fibrosis in athletes. The review summarizes these studies focusing on common patterns of myocardial fibrosis observed in athletes, their potential causes and significance. It also presents recent research on parametric imaging shedding new light on diffuse myocardial fibrosis in athletes. Finally, it reviews how these traditional and novel cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) techniques can be incorporated in the diagnostic work up to differentiate athlete's heart from cardiomyopathies.
Topics & Concepts
MedicineAthletesMyocardial fibrosisCardiac magnetic resonanceFibrosisCardiologyInternal medicineMagnetic resonance imagingPhysical therapyRadiologyCardiovascular Effects of ExerciseViral Infections and Immunology ResearchCardiomyopathy and Myosin Studies