The beneficial effect of low‐intensity exercise on cardiac performance assessed by two‐dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography

Background Regular physical activity is associated with cardiovascular health; however, intensive exercise can have harmful effects on the heart. Two‐dimensional (2D) speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a well‐established diagnostic tool to evaluate subclinical myocardial dysfunction and has been widely used in athletes in recent years. This study is designed to evaluate whether low‐intensity exercise has beneficial effects on myocardial performance. We aimed to evaluate systolic and diastolic functions of myocardium derived from STE in sports practitioners in a low‐intensity exercise training program. Method Eighty‐four sports practitioners and eighty‐two sedentary healthy controls were prospectively included in our study. In addition to standard 2D echocardiographic measurements, left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS), right ventricular (RV) GLS, RV‐free wall strain (FWS), left atrium (LA) strain, and strain rate were analyzed. Results Mean LV GLS was significantly higher in sports practitioners compared with sedentary population (−19.21 ± 2.61% vs −18.37 ± 2.75%, P = .044). RV GLS was significantly higher in sports practitioners than sedentary population (−21.82 ± 4.86% vs −20.04 ± 4.62%, P = .016). Longitudinal strain and strain rate of LA conduit phase were significantly higher in sports practitioners than sedentary participants (−23.60 ± 6.83% vs −20.20 ± 6.64%, P = .001; −2.45 ± 0.81 L/s vs −2.10 ± 0.89 L/s, P = .010; respectively). Also, LA conduit phase strain/contraction phase strain and conduit phase strain rate/contraction phase strain rate ratios were higher in sports practitioners (1.88 ± 0.93 vs 1.48 ± 0.63, P = .001; 1.42 ± 0.65 vs 1.16 ± 0.53, P = .005; respectively). Conclusion The findings in the current study suggest that regular low‐intensity exercise may have a beneficial effect on both systolic and diastolic functions of the myocardium.