THE EFFECT OF ETHNICITY AND BODY SIZE ON THE ATHLETE’S HEART AND THEIR IMPACT ON CARDIOVASCULAR PRE-PARTICIPATION SCREENING

TL;DRAbstract

In response to the augmented haemodynamic load placed upon the heart by intense and prolonged exercise, various forms of physiological remodelling are elicited. The resultant cardiac structural, functional and electrical adaptations are coined the athlete’s heart. Due to the nature of the remodelling, in some cases these adaptations may however overlap with the diagnostic criteria for varying pathological conditions, often related to sudden cardiac death. Several variables are associated with the athlete’s heart including age, sex, sport, body size, and ethnicity. Ethnicity is of particular importance as athletes of an African/Afro-Caribbean ethnicity demonstrate a greater prevalence of abnormal changes suggestive of pathology. There is however paucity in the literature of the athlete’s heart among other ethnicities. For this reason Study 1 investigated the impact of Arabic ethnicity upon the structure, function and electrophysiology of the heart in male athletes. Study 1 identified th

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