Echocardiographic Findings in Professional Wrestlers

Background: Cardiac changes caused by different types of physical exercise have been reported by many studies. The aim of this study was to compare the cardiac parameters among wrestlers and control subjects by two-dimensional echocardiography.Methods: In this study, 32 wrestlers registered in an adult team of a wrestling club and competed in national wrestling league were selected. The control group included 30 age-matched students with normal level of activity. All subjects underwent at rest M-Mode echocardiography. The parameters determined and compared consisted of the interventricular septal thickness, left ventricular internal diameter (LVID) in diastole, ejection fraction (EF), left ventricular mass (LVM), posterior wall thickness (PWT), and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Results: The mean values of LVID (50.3±5.3 VS. 46.8±5.3 mm), LVM (219.7±50.7 VS. 166.8±44.2 gr), PWT (10.1±1.4 vs. 8.6±1.3 mm), and the frequency of LVH (34.4%vs.13.3%) were significantly higher in wrestlers compared with those of the control group; however, there was no significant difference between interventricular septal thickness and ejection fraction in either groups. Conclusions: The present study showed that LVID, LVM, PWT and the frequency of LVH were significantly higher in wrestlers than in control subjects. This can result from regular exercise and physical activity. Increase in LVID was probably due to types of exercises in wrestlers that beside of strength training emphasis on endurance training. However, there was no significant difference between interventricular septal thicknesses.