Geert Kleinnibbelink

BACKGROUND: The magnitude of exercise-induced cardiac troponin (cTn) elevations is dependent on cardiovascular health status, and previous studies have shown that occult coronary atherosclerosis is highly prevalent among amateur athletes. We tested the hypothesis that middle-aged and older athletes with coronary atherosclerosis demonstrate greater cTn elevations following a controlled endurance exercise test compared to healthy peers.

1 Oxborough D. Heemels A. Somauroo J. McClean G. Mistry P. Lord R. et al. Left and right ventricular longitudinal strain-volume/area relationships in elite athletes. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2016; 32: 1199-1211 RV strain-area loop characteristics relate to afterload, while characteristics hold independent predictive capacity for morbidity and mortality in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). 2 Hulshof H.G. van Dijk A.P. George K.P. Merkus D. Stam K. van Duin R.W. et al.

Highlights • High-intensity exercise for 45 min induces right- and left-sided cardiac fatigue. • EICF is more pronounced during stress echocardiography. • Exercise under hypoxia does not exaggerate EICF. Background Acute exercise promotes transient exercise-induced cardiac fatigue, which affects the right ventricle and to a lesser extent the left ventricle. Hypoxic exposure induces an additional increase in right ventricular (RV) afterload.