There is a clear impact of marathon on skeletal muscle and myocardium structure.
The beneficial effect of regular physical exercise on heart function is now widely recognized by researchers in the field of physical activity and sport around the world and more generally in society. Among the main beneficial effects are the improvement of the lipid profile, carbohydrate homeostasis, decrease in resting blood pressure, blood coagulation, improvement of myocardial perfusion and an increase in cardiac output [1]. While the function of the heart pump is improved by regular exercise of moderate intensity [2], it was first shown in 1964 that the function of the left ventricle (LV) was reduced after prolonged physical exercise (PPE) [3]. Almost twenty years later, work has shown impaired cardiac function in athletes who have achieved PPE and used the concept of Exercise-Induced Cardiac Fatigue for the first time [4]. This phenomenon is defined as a transient decrease in systolic and diastolic ventricular functions and is sometimes associated with an increase in markers of myocardial degradation (i.e., cardiac troponins I) [5].
Endurance activities have been very popular since the end of the 1990′s. The attraction to life in the great outdoors and the desire to know its limits lead more and more people to practice PPE each year [6]. Among these PPE, there are those of moderate duration such as the half-marathon (i.e., between 1–2 h of effort) and the marathon (i.e., 2–4 h), those with long duration such as the semi-triathlon distance “Ironman” (i.e., 5–8 h), and the “Ironman” distance triathlon with its 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling and 42.195 km of running (i.e., 9–16 h) and those with very long duration such as ultra-marathons or ultra-trails (some events can exceed 24 h). The effect of these PPEs on the cardiac function of participants has been the subject of much scientific research since the end of the 1990′s. The general methodology used in these various works includes the evaluation of echocardiographic parameters of the cardiac function before and after PPE under resting conditions.
After a marathon running, the majority of studies have reported a decrease in LV and right ventricular (RV) diastolic function. Interestingly, the decrease in diastolic function was effective after 1 h of exercise [7]. More recently, it has been reported that cardiac fatigue is present but with left and right ventricular dysfunction, even more marked than at rest [8]. This study underlined the importance of the intensity of exertion during a marathon in the occurrence of cardiac fatigue. In summary, a moderate duration PPE results in a decrease in LV and RV diastolic function associated with a decrease in ventricular relaxation. The results concerning LV and RV systolic function are contradictory and seem to show that the myocardial alterations are rather dependent on the intensity with which the marathon is performed.
References | Methods/Parameters | Pre-Marathon | Post-Marathon | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|---|
Biomarkers Analyses | ||||
Traiperm [20][25] | ||||
cTnT (ng/mL) | ||||
NT-proBNP (pg/mL) | Curvilinear relationship between NT-ProBNP increment and running time (r2 = 0.359) | <0.05 | ||
Kaleta-Duss [9][15] | ||||
CK (U/l) | 148 ± 76.3 | 411 ± 170 | <0.001 | |
hs-cTnI (ng/mL) | 0.01 ± 0.01 | 0.06 ± 0.09 | <0.001 | |
H-FABP (ng/mL) | 2.22 ± 1.18 | 13.57 ± 9.63 | <0.001 | |
BNP (pg/mL) | 79.86 ± 53.11 | 155.38 ± 156.23 | <0.001 | |
NT-proANP (pg/mL) | 469.25 ± 155.44 | 753.3 ± 176.60 | <0.001 | |
Gal-3 (ng/mL) | 8.53 ± 3.04 | 10.65 ± 2.33 | <0.001 | |
GDF-15 (pg/mL) | 50.97 ± 27.61 | 137.34 ± 85.19 | <0.001 | |
Martinez-Navarro [10][16] | ||||
hs-cTnT (ng/L) | 5.74 ± 5.29 | 50.4 ± 57.04 | <0.001 | |
Sierra [21][26] | ||||
IL-6 (pg/mL) | 581 ± 1529 | 87 ± 53 | NS | |
IL-8 (pg/mL) | 3099 ± 6511 | 1450 ± 6233 | NS | |
IL-12p40 (pg/mL) | 3775 ± 12406 | 285 ± 131 | <0.05 | |
IL-23 (pg/mL) | 3722 ± 12115 | 1004 ± 254 | <0.05 | |
IL-33 (pg/mL) | 412 ± 1546 | 267 ± 145 | <0.05 | |
TSLP (pg/mL) | 387 ± 1974 | 20 ± 16 | <0.05 | |
eNO (ppb) | 20 ± 11 | 35 ± 19 | ↑ | |
Wegberger [11][17] | ||||
Troponin I (µg/L) | btw 0–0.01 | 0.03 (0.02–0.05) | 0.016 | |
CK (U/L) | btw 0–250 | 425 (327–681) | 0.001 | |
Copeptin (pmol/L) | btw 0–20 | 26.25 (16.29–39.02) | 0.078 | |
NT-proBNP (ng/L) | btw 0–100 | 132 (64–198) | 0.001 | |
MR-proADM (nmol/L) | btw 0.25–0.60 | 0.88 (0.55–0.99) | 0.023 | |
de Gonzalo-Calvo [12][18] | ||||
hs-cTnT (pg/mL) | btw 0–5 | btw 0–35 | <0.01 | |
NT-proBNP (pg/mL) | btw 0–25 | btw 0–110 | <0.05 | |
CK (U/L) | btw 0–150 | btw 0–300 | <0.001 | |
hFABP (ng/mL) | btw 0–3 | btw 0–24 | <0.01 | |
Gal-3 (ng/mL) | btw 0–7 | btw 0–22 | <0.001 | |
Kosowski [13][19] | ||||
hs-cTnI (pg/mL) | 3.67 (1.88–5.38) | 22 (9.58–34.56) | <0.001 | |
NT-proBNP (pg/mL) | 50 (33–73) | 169 (112–365) | <0.001 | |
ET-1 (pg/mL) | 3.03 (2.5–3.4) | 5.22 (4.4–5.89) | <0.001 | |
Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.85 (0.79–0.98) | 1.39 (1.22–1.56) | <0.001 | |
Richardson [14][20] | ||||
cTnT (ng/L) | 5.60 ± 3.27 | 74.52 ± 30.39 | <0.001 | |
Sengupta [18][9] | ||||
NT-proBNP (pg/mL) | 86.0 ± 9.5 | 106.5 ± 24.2 | 0.001 | |
Clauss [19][24] | ||||
Chromogranin A (pg/mL) | btw 0–60 | btw 0–90 | <0.001 | |
NT-proBNP (ng/mL) | btw 0–30 | btw 0–110 | <0.001 | |
Roca [15][21] | ||||
NT-proBNP (ng/L) | 70 (70–70) | 92 (70–147) | <0.001 | |
ST2 (ng/mL) | 34.2 (24.7–40.9) | 54.2 (38.2–72.4) | <0.001 | |
hs-TnT (ng/L) | 2.9 (1.7–7) | 46.9 (24.1–91.1) | <0.001 | |
Bekos [23][28] | ||||
sRAGE (pg/mL) | btw 250–600 | btw 400–750 | <0.001 | |
ST2 (pg/mL) | btw 0–250 | btw 125–400 | <0.001 | |
Niemelä [22][27] | ||||
suPAR (ng/mL) | btw 0.5–2 | btw 1.2–3.5 | <0.01 | |
CD163 (ng/mL) | btw 300–800 | btw 500–1100 | <0.05 | |
CRP (mg/L) | btw 0–12 | btw 0–22 | <0.05 | |
IL-6 (pg/mL) | btw 0–8 | btw 17–25 | <0.01 | |
IL-8 (pg/mL) | btw 5–12 | btw 25–42 | <0.05 | |
IL-10 (pg/mL) | btw 0–1 | btw 1–3.5 | <0.05 | |
TNF-α (pg/mL) | btw 0–1 | btw 1–2.5 | NS | |
TGF-β (pg/mL) | btw 500–1000 | btw 0–1000 | NS | |
Martin [16][22] | ||||
Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.94 ± 0.12 | 1.42 ± 0.24 | <0.001 | |
CK (U/L) | 133 ± 60 | 367 ± 167 | <0.001 | |
White blood cells (thousand/μL) | 5.75 ± 1.19 | 15.77 ± 3.29 | <0.001 | |
Neutrophils (cells/μL) | 3420 ± 1049 | 13580 ± 3019 | <0.001 | |
Scherr [17][23] | ||||
hs-cTnT (ng/L) | 3 (3–5) | 31 (19–47) | <0.001 | |
NT-proBNP (ng/L) | 27 (14–40) | 93 (57–150) | <0.001 | |
h-FABP (Kg/L) | 7 (5–10) | 45 (32–64) | <0.001 | |
hs-CRP (mg/L) | 0.52 (0.30–0.93) | 0.40 (0.24–0.85) | <0.001 | |
IL-6 (ng/L) | 2.1 (1.9–2.2) | 32 (21–41) | <0.001 | |
IL-10 (ng/L) | 5.1 (4.9–5.4) | 20 (11–50) | <0.001 | |
TNF-α (ng/L) | 9 (7–10) | 10 (9–12) | <0.001 | |
Cystatin C (mg/L) | 0.8 (0.7–0.9) | 0.9 (0.9–1.0) | <0.001 | |
Baggish [24][29] | ||||
c-miR-1 (fold change) | 21.8 | 0.04 | ||
c-miR-126 (fold change) | 1.9 | <0.001 | ||
c-miR-133 (fold change) | 18.5 | 0.02 | ||
c-miR-134 (fold change) | 1.9 | <0.001 | ||
c-miR-146a (fold change) | 3.3 | <0.001 | ||
hsCRP (fold change) | 1.0 | 1.000 | ||
Echography, HRV & STE analyses | ||||
Lewicka-Potocka [25][30] | ||||
LV EF (%) | 61.8 ± 4.9 | 60.5 ± 4.4 | 0.38 | |
LV GLS (%) | −19.9 ± 2.3 | −19.4 ± 2.1 | 0.41 | |
RV 4CSL (%) | −22.0 ± 2.8 | −20.80 ± 2.6 | <0.05 | |
TAPSE (mm) | 25.0 ± 3.6 | 24.0 ± 3.7 | 0.56 | |
RVd MID (cm) | 3.4 ± 0.6 | 3.7 ± 0.5 | <0.01 | |
RVd BAS (cm) | 3.8 ± 0.4 | 3.8 ± 0.5 | 0.44 | |
LVd BAS (cm) | 4.8 ± 0.4 | 4.6 ± 0.3 | <0.001 | |
RVd/LVd BAS | 0.77 ± 0.1 | 0.82 ± 0.1 | <0.05 | |
Roeh [26][31] | ||||
E/A | 1.6 ± 0.5 | 1.1 ± 0.3 | <0.001 | |
E/e’ mean | 6.4 ± 1.5 | 6.5 ± 1.8 | 0.6 | |
DT (s) | 0.18 ± 0.05 | 0.20 ± 0.05 | <0.001 | |
Vmin (mL/m2) | 11.4 ± 3.7 | 9.9 ± 3.5 | <0.01 | |
Vmax (mL/m2) | 28.0 ± 6.2 | 25.0 ± 7.0 | <0.01 | |
Total-SV (mL/m2) | 59.6 ± 7.8 | 60.7 ± 6.0 | 0.3 | |
Total-EF (%) | 34.9 ± 8.6 | 31.33 ± 10.2 | <0.01 | |
ASV (mL/m2) | 16.6 ± 3.8 | 15.1 ± 4.1 | <0.01 | |
True-EF (%) | 6.1 ± 2.4 | 4.8 ± 2.8 | <0.001 | |
Sengupta [18][9] | ||||
Heart rate (beats/minute) | 74.1 ± 6.4 | 64.5 ± 7.6 | <0.001 | |
Systolic BP (mmHg) | 123 ± 11 | 120 ± 9 | 0.214 | |
Diastolic BP (mmHg) | 79 ± 5 | 79 ± 5 | 0.675 | |
IVSd (cm) | 0.94 ± 0.16 | 1.03 ± 0.20 | 0.005 | |
LV mass (gm) | 0.94 ± 0.16 | 1.03 ± 0.20 | 0.005 | |
LV mass (gm) | 120.2 ± 30.0 | 160.3 ± 43.0 | <0.001 | |
LVEDV (mL) | 61.8 ± 16.5 | 72.8 ± 5.1 | <0.001 | |
LVESV (mL) | 21.9 ± 7.5 | 20.3 ± 3.7 | 0.191 | |
LVEF (%) | 64.9 ± 5.6 | 72.0 ± 5.7 | <0.001 | |
Mitral E (cm/s) | 89.8 ± 17.1 | 80.1 ± 17.0 | 0.001 | |
Mitral annular e0 (cm/s) | 10.4 ± 2.1 | 10.1 ± 2.2 | 0.638 | |
Mitral E/e0 | 9.1 ± 2.4 | 8.3 ± 2.7 | 0.227 | |
Left atrial volume index (mL/m2) | 23.2 ± 6.1 | 19.0 ± 6.5 | 0.01 | |
LV global longitudinal strain (%) | −19.3 ± 2.71 | −16.5 ± 4.6 | 0.003 | |
LV global circumferential strain (%) | −17.2 ± 2.41 | −15.2 ± 2.6 | 0.001 | |
LV global radial strain (%) | 31.9 ± 7.4 | 30.9 ± 1.3 | 0.422 | |
Mertová [27][32] | ||||
Sympathovagal balance | - | Ln LF/HF | ↑ | |
Heart rate (bpm) | - | +30 | ||
Sierra [28][33] | ||||
Peak VO2 (mL/kg/min) | 51 (46–52) | 46 (43–49) | <0.05 | |
Peak VE (L/min) | 134 (99–148) | 120 (111–147) | NS | |
VE/VCO2 slope | 34 (30–41) | 31 (27–39) | <0.05 | |
HR | 62 (60–67) | 104 (101–111) | <0.05 | |
Systolic volume | 80 (79–100) | 61 (51–68) | <0.05 | |
Cardiac output | 5354(4747–6458) | 6234(5238–7433) | NS | |
LVEDD | 51(49–52) | 51 (45–58) | NS | |
LVESD | 32 (29–32) | 32 (28–34) | NS | |
EF | 67 (66–70) | 62 (61–67) | NS | |
E wave | 0.9 (0.7–1.0) | 0.6 (0.5–0.7) | <0.05 | |
A wave | 0.7 (0.5–0.9) | 0.9 (0.8–0.9) | NS | |
E/A ratio | 1.3 (1.1–1.5) | 0.7 (0.6–0.8) | <0.05 | |
s’ wave | 8.8 (8.2–9.7) | 6.7 (5.9–8.0) | <0.05 | |
e’ wave | 9.2 (8.4–10.6) | 8.5 (6.4–10.4) | NS | |
a’ wave | 8.1 (7.6–9.1) | 7.6 (6.6–9.6) | NS | |
E/e’ ratio | 0.09 (0.08–0.10) | 0.08 (0.06–0.09) | NS | |
Hanssen [29][34] | ||||
Heart rate (beats/min) | 57 ± 7 | 86 ± 13 | <0.001 | |
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 132 ±13 | 121 ± 12 | <0.001 | |
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 86 ± 8 | 74 ± 7 | <0.001 | |
LVEF (%) | 65 ± 4 | 67 ± 5 | 0.280 | |
LV end-diastolic volume (cm3) | 120 ± 25 | 113 ± 27 | 0.142 | |
E (cm/s) | 74 ± 14 | 66 ± 14 | 0.054 | |
A (cm/s) | 56 ± 13 | 72 ± 12 | <0.001 | |
E /A ratio | 1.4 ± 0.3 | 0.9 ± 0.2 | <0.001 | |
Septal E’ (cm/s) | 10 ± 1 | 8 ± 2 | 0.001 | |
Septal A’ (cm/s) | 10 ± 2 | 12 ± 3 | 0.001 | |
E /E’ ratio | 8.3 ± 1.6 | 8.4 ± 3.4 | 0.871 | |
Chan-Dewar [30][35] | ||||
Sub-epicardial radial strain (%) |
32.6 ± 12.5 | 20.3 ± 9.6% | <0.01 | |
Sub-endocardial circumferential strain (%) | −26.9 ± 3.6 | −23.7 ± 4.1 | <0.01 | |
EF | 63 ± 5 | 62 ± 7 | NS | |
E/A | 1.8 ± 0.7 | 1.1 ± 0.2 | <0.01 |