Prevalence and relation to training of electrocardiographic findings in Caucasian children and adolescents 8-18 year-old practicing competitive sport.

Background And Aims: Training frequently induces electrocardiographic (ECG) changes that mimic heart diseases, requiring specific criteria for interpretation. Pediatric athletes represent a unique population as training-induced changes and those due to sexual maturation interact and specific criteria may be needed. We aimed to assess the prevalence and its relation to training of ECG abnormalities in young athletes aged 8-18 years.

Examination of Genetic and Epigenetic Characteristics of Patients with Hyperhomocysteinemia Following High-Dose Folic Acid Consumption.

Homocysteine (HCY) metabolism is regulated by the methionine cycle, which is essential for DNA methylation and is associated with the folate cycle. This study examines the alterations in DNA methylation signature including epigenetic age changes, measure cell-free DNA (cfDNA), and HCY concentrations, and identifies genetic markers that may influence homocysteine response following folic acid (FA) supplementation in individuals with hyperhomocysteinemia (HHC). Blood samples were obtained from 43 HHC patients undergoing FA supplementation.

Exercise with fasting or isotonic drink? A randomized controlled trial in youth elite basketball players.

Background: Pre-exercise carbohydrate intake is known to influence performance; however, data describing their effect on cardiorespiratory parameters is scarce. This study aimed to assess the effects of isotonic drink consumption on cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) parameters in elitemale youth basketball players.

Methods: The athletes were randomized into a fasting (400 ml mineral water) and an isotonic drink (400 ml 7% isotonic solution) group respectively, and consumed the drinks 30 minutes before the CPET.

Fitness and Mortality Outcomes Associated With Supramaximal Peak Heart Rate on Treadmill Exercise Stress Testing.

Inability to reach age-predicted peak heart rate (APPHR) on treadmill exercise testing (TMET) is associated with lower fitness and increased mortality. The significance of a "supramaximal" heart rate (≥105% of APPHR) is poorly understood; as such, we sought to investigate this relationship. We queried the Mayo Stress database from 1993 to 2010 for patients >30 years old without cardiovascular disease and not on antichronotropic therapy.

The role of sex, training load, and sports type in athletic cardiac remodelling: Insights from T1 and T2 mapping via cardiac magnetic resonance.

Background: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, utilising native T1 and T2 mapping, provides a non-invasive method for assessing myocardial tissue properties, contributing to the clinical evaluation of the athlete's heart.

Objective: To evaluate T1 and T2 mapping alterations and their association with sex, training volume, sports type, and other standard CMR parameters of the athlete's heart.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of healthy elite athletes (≥10 training hours/week) and sedentary controls (≤5 h/week) who underwent detailed cardiology screening.

[Semmelweis University Iron Board - Consensus statement of iron treatment].

Iron deficiency is the most common mineral deficiency in the world, causing a major global health problem for both adults and children. Iron deficiency is associated with many co-morbidities and has a significant impact on the quality of life. By detecting it at an early phase, symptoms and the quality of life can be improved.

Exhaled and Systemic Biomarkers to Aid the Diagnosis of Bronchial Asthma in Elite Water Sports Athletes.

Purpose: Our aim was to evaluate the accuracy of a combined airway inflammatory biomarker assessment in diagnosing asthma in elite water sports athletes.

Methods: Members of the Hungarian Olympic and Junior Swim Team and elite athletes from other aquatic disciplines were assessed for asthma by objective lung function measurements, and blood eosinophil count (BEC), serum total immunoglobulin E (IgE), fractional exhaled nitric oxide (F ENO ) measurements, and skin prick testing were performed. A scoring system from BEC, F ENO , serum IgE, and skin test positivity was constructed by dichotomizing the variables and assigning a score of 1 if the variable is elevated.

Blood Test-Based Age Acceleration Is Inversely Associated with High-Volume Sports Activity.

Purpose: We develop blood test-based aging clocks and examine how these clocks reflect high-volume sports activity.

Methods: We use blood tests and body metrics data of 421 Hungarian athletes and 283 age-matched controls (mean age, 24.1 and 23.

Right Ventricular Structure and Function in Adolescent Athletes: A 3D Echocardiographic Study.

The aim of this study was to characterize the right ventricular (RV) contraction pattern and its associations with exercise capacity in a large cohort of adolescent athletes using resting three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE). We enrolled 215 adolescent athletes (16±1 years, 169 males, 12±6 hours of training/week) and compared them to 38 age and sex-matched healthy, sedentary adolescents. We measured the 3DE-derived biventricular ejection fractions (EF).

Orthostasis Is Impaired Due to Fatiguing Intensive Acute Concentric Exercise Succeeded by Isometric Weight-Loaded Wall-Sit in Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness: A Pilot Study.

The aim of the study was to investigate any indication of diminished orthostatic tolerance as a result of fatiguing intensive acute concentric exercise with a successive isometric wall-sit followed by an orthostatic stress test, with a special focus on any distinguishable alterations due to a delayed-onset muscle soreness effect. The exercise protocol was carried out among nineteen (10 female, 9 male) junior swimmers from the Hungarian National Swim Team. All athletes showed a positive orthostatic stress test right after our exercise protocol.

Retrospective study of COVID-19 experiences in elite multinational aquatic athletes.

This study assessed the experiences of elite aquatic athletes with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the first World Championship conducted without social distancing and an isolation "bubble". An online questionnaire was completed by 812 athletes (22.7 ± 5.

Iron deficiency in young basketball players: Is a 100 μg/L ferritin cut-off appropriate for iron supplementation?: Results of a randomized placebo-controlled study.

Background: Iron deficiency (ID) is one of the most common factors that may reduce sports performance, supplementation forms and doses are still not standardized in athletes. Our aim was to assess the iron status of young male basketball players and to study the effect of iron supplementation in a randomized placebo-controlled study.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that due to the higher iron demand of athletes, the 100 μg/L ferritin cut-off may be appropriate to determine the non-anemic ID.

Cardiopulmonary examinations of athletes returning to high-intensity sport activity following SARS-CoV-2 infection.

After SARS-CoV-2 infection, strict recommendations for return-to-sport were published. However, data are insufficient about the long-term effects on athletic performance. After suffering SARS-CoV-2 infection, and returning to maximal-intensity trainings, control examinations were performed with vita-maxima cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).

Swimming competitions in the era of COVID-19: Lessons from successfully hosting the International Swimming League.

Background: Organization of mass sport events in the COVID-19 era is utterly complicated. Containments measures, required to avoid a virus outbreak, force athletes to compete under circumstances they never experienced before, most likely having a deleterious effect on their performance.

Purpose: We aimed to design a so-called athlete-friendly bubble system for the International Swimming League 2020 event, which is strict enough to avoid a COVID-19 outbreak, but still provides a supportive environment for the athletes.

Short and mid-term characteristics of COVID-19 disease course in athletes: A high-volume, single-center study.

Introduction: At the pandemic's beginning, significant concern has risen about the prevalence of myocardial involvement after SARS-CoV-2 infection. We assessed the cardiovascular burden of SARS-CoV-2 in a large cohort of athletes and identified factors that might affect the disease course. We included 633 athletes in our study on whom we performed extensive cardiology examinations after recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

CD3/CD56 NKT-like Cells Show Imbalanced Control Immediately after Exercise in Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness.

The purpose of the study was to carry out an immunophenotypical characterization with a special focus on natural killer cells of junior swimmers from the Hungarian National Swim Team before and after an intensive acute exercise. Nineteen swimmers, ten females and nine males, completed the exercise protocol. Sixteen swimmers experienced delayed-onset muscle soreness.

Impact of Clinical and Morphological Factors on Long-Term Mortality in Patients with Myocardial Bridge.

Although myocardial bridging (MB) has been intensively investigated using different methods, the effect of bridge morphology on long-term outcome is still doubtful. We aimed at describing the anatomical differences in coronary angiography between symptomatic and non-symptomatic LAD myocardial bridges and to investigate the influence of clinical and morphological factors on long-term mortality. In our retrospective, long-term, single center study we found relevant MB on the left anterior descendent (LAD) coronary artery in 146 cases during a two-year period, when 11,385 patients underwent coronary angiography due to angina pectoris.

Biventricular mechanical pattern of the athlete's heart: comprehensive characterization using three-dimensional echocardiography.

Aims: While left ventricular (LV) adaptation to regular, intense exercise has been thoroughly studied, data concerning the right ventricular (RV) mechanical changes and their continuum with athletic performance are scarce. The aim of this study was to characterize biventricular morphology and function and their relation to sex, age, and sports classes in a large cohort of elite athletes using three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography.

Methods And Results: Elite, competitive athletes (n = 422) and healthy, sedentary volunteers (n = 55) were enrolled.

Frequent Constriction-Like Echocardiographic Findings in Elite Athletes Following Mild COVID-19: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

The cardiovascular effects of SARS-CoV-2 in elite athletes are still a matter of debate. Accordingly, we sought to perform a comprehensive echocardiographic characterization of post-COVID athletes by comparing them to a non-COVID athlete cohort. 107 elite athletes with COVID-19 were prospectively enrolled (P-CA; 23 ± 6 years, 23% female) 107 healthy athletes were selected as a control group using propensity score matching (N-CA).

Is cardiac involvement prevalent in highly trained athletes after SARS-CoV-2 infection? A cardiac magnetic resonance study using sex-matched and age-matched controls.

Objectives: To investigate the cardiovascular consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection in highly trained, otherwise healthy athletes using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and to compare our results with sex-matched and age-matched athletes and less active controls.

Methods: SARS-CoV-2 infection was diagnosed by PCR on swab tests or serum immunoglobulin G antibody tests prior to a comprehensive CMR examination. The CMR protocol contained sequences to assess structural, functional and tissue-specific data.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Preparation for the Tokyo Olympics: A Comprehensive Performance Assessment of Top Swimmers.

Background: The Olympic preparation of athletes has been highly influenced by COVID and post-COVID syndrome. As the complex screening of athletes is essential for safe and successful sports, we aimed to repeat the 2019-year sports cardiology screening of the Olympic Swim Team before the Olympics and to compare the results of COVID and non-COVID athletes.

Methods: Patient history, electrocardiogram, laboratory tests, body composition analysis, echocardiography, cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) were performed.

Novel insights into the athlete's heart: is myocardial work the new champion of systolic function?

Aims: We sought to investigate the correlation between speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE)-derived myocardial work (MW) and invasively measured contractility in a rat model of athlete's heart. We also assessed MW in elite athletes and explored its association with cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET)-derived aerobic capacity.

Methods And Results: Sixteen rats underwent a 12-week swim training program and were compared to controls (n = 16).

Prognosis and clinical characteristics of patients with early ventricular fibrillation in the 6-week guideline-offered time period: is it safe to wait 6 weeks with the assessment? (results from the VMAJOR-MI Registry).

Background: The most common, potentially fatal complication following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is early ventricular fibrillation (EVF). According to the guidelines, the assessment of implanting an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is sufficient 6 weeks after the event, in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), regardless of VF. The present study aimed to evaluate the 6-week prognosis of patients surviving an EVF.