Abstract

One hundred and twenty-five healthy, male top-level athletes were evaluated by echocardiography (Echo) and assigned to six groups according to the size of the left ventricular mass (L.V. Mass). Echo evaluation of coronary artery (c.a.) proximal size was performed following the method described by Kalavathy et al. Two of us separately conducted the measurement of the c.a. diameter at about 1 cm from the respective aortic ostium on M-Mode tracings and 2-D end-diastolic frames. In a subset of 38 athletes, maximum oxygen uptake was tested during maximal exercise test (VO2max). For both the right and the left main c.a. the mean diameter (mm) increased in relation to increasing L.V. Mass. A significant correlation between right + left main c.a. diameter and left ventricular mass, and even higher between c.a. diameters and left ventricular wall thickness, was found. A feeble linear correlation was found between VO2max (l/min) and c.a. size. This study therefore indicates that training-induced myocardial hypertrophy involves a proportionate increase of c.a. dimension. Verf.-Referat