Falcioni L, Gallotta MC, Baldari C, Cardinali L, Campanella M, Ferrari D, Guidetti L, Meucci M. Influence of training status on cardiac and vascular functioning in young recreational and competitive male rowers. Frontiers in Pediatrics, section Pediatric Cardiology

Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of training
status on cardiovascular function in young male recreational and competitive
rowers.
Methods: Ejection duration in percentage to the heart rate period (ED%),
subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR), augmentation index at 75 bpm (AIx75) and
carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) of competitive rowers (CR) (age
17.6 ± 4.1 years), recreational rowers (RR) (age 16.7 ± 2.70 years) and athletes
practicing other recreational sports (ORS) (age 15.3 ± 1.4 years) were assessed.
Results: ED% was lower in CR compared to ORS (31.9 ± 3.9% vs. 38.4 ± 4.8%; p =
0.026) and cf-PWV was higher in CR compared to ORS (5.5 ± 1.0 m/s vs. 4.7 ±
0.5 m/s; p = 0.032). SEVR was higher in CR compared to RR and ORS (165.8 ±
33.7% vs. 127.4 ± 30.4% and 128.3 ± 27.8%; p = 0.022) and AIx75 was lower in CR
compared to RR and ORS (−15.7 ± 8.6% vs. 1.2 ± 9.9% and 1.5 ± 9.1; p = 0.001).
Discussion: Healthy, young competitive male rowers reported higher myocardial
performance and better cardiovascular health than recreational athletes.
Interpretations of cf-PWV in competitive rowers should be performed alongside
other cardiovascular indicators.