Introduction:

The left atrium fulfills several functions during the cardiac cycle (reservoir, conduction and contraction) that could be affected by physiological remodeling as well as by stress induced by intense exercise (ultra-mountain trail races).

Objective:

To assess whether the physiological adaptations of the left atrium to sport (increase in atrial volume) as well as the stress induced by ultramarathon competitions influence left atrial function estimated by atrial strain performed by speckle tracking.

Method:

28 participants were evaluated pre and post exercise, using Doppler echocardiography and new echocardiographic techniques. Conventional descriptive statistics, comparative analysis were performed for paired data using the t test and Pearson correlation to assess factors that influence the detected alterations.

Results:

The median age of the competitors was 38 ± 9 years with a predominance of males (n = 17, 65%). In the basal echocardiogram, we found an average left atrial volume of 33 ± 7 ml/m2 (min. 21 ml/m2, max. 47 ml/m2), with an average baseline left atrial strain of 31%. In the post-effort evaluation, a non-significant decrease in left atrial volume was observed, maintaining atrial strain and even increasing its deformation, as in the case of the women evaluated.

Conclusions:

Unlike what was observed in other parameters of ventricular function after effort, atrial strain is not affected by cardiac fatigue.

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