The athletes heart-from acute stimulus to chronic adaptation.

Introduction: The complex phenomenon of the athlete's heart (AH) describes the chronic physiological structural and functional adaptation secondary to repeated exposure of an acute exercise stimulus.

Sources Of Data: This narrative review is based on published evidence.

Areas Of Agreement: Highly trained athletic individuals frequently display cardiac parameters which are suggestive of an AH and can exceed the traditional 'normal' limits.

The Influence of Age and Exercise Training Status on Left Ventricular Systolic Twist Mechanics in Healthy Males-An Exploratory Study.

Age-related differences in twist may be mitigated with exercise training, although this remains inconclusive. Moreover, temporal left ventricular (LV) systolic twist mechanics, including early-systolic (twist), and beyond peak twist (twist) alone, have not been considered. Therefore, further insights are required to ascertain the influence of age and training status on twist mechanics across systole.

Causes, outcomes and diagnosis of acute breathlessness hospital admissions in Malawi: protocol for a multicentre prospective cohort study.

Background: Hospital admission due to breathlessness carries a significant burden to patients and healthcare systems, particularly impacting people in low-income countries. Prompt appropriate treatment is vital to improve outcomes, but this relies on accurate diagnostic tests which are of limited availability in resource-constrained settings. We will provide an accurate description of acute breathlessness presentations in a multicentre prospective cohort study in Malawi, a low resource setting in Southern Africa, and explore approaches to strengthen diagnostic capacity.

Global longitudinal active strain energy density (GLASED): age and sex differences between young and veteran athletes.

Background: Global longitudinal active strain energy density (GLASED) is an innovative method for assessing myocardial function and quantifies the work performed per unit volume of the left ventricular myocardium. The GLASED, measured using MRI, is the best prognostic marker currently available. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of measuring the GLASED using echocardiography and to investigate potential differences in the GLASED among athletes based on age and sex.