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. 2024 Sep 10;11(9):285.
doi: 10.3390/jcdd11090285.

Effect of Sport Activity on Uncomplicated Bicuspid Aortic Valve: Long-Term Longitudinal Echocardiographic Study

Massimiliano Bianco  1 , Fabrizio Sollazzo  1 , Gloria Modica  2 , Isabella Carlotta Zovatto  1 , Rachele Di Mario  1 , Riccardo Monti  1 , Michela Cammarano  1 , Vincenzo Palmieri  1 , Paolo Zeppilli  1
Affiliations

Effect of Sport Activity on Uncomplicated Bicuspid Aortic Valve: Long-Term Longitudinal Echocardiographic Study

Massimiliano Bianco et al. J Cardiovasc Dev Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a congenital heart defect that can lead to certain complications (aortic stenosis, regurgitation, dilatation and endocarditis), the diagnosis and clinical monitoring of which are effectively entrusted to transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). The impact of training on the natural history of the disease remains unclear.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of athletes with uncomplicated BAV aged 18-50 years, who underwent at least 2 TTEs with a minimum follow-up of 5 years, subdivided according to the level of physical activity during follow-up into ''untrained'' and ''trained'', was collected.

Results: 47 athletes (87.3% male, median 21.0, (18.0; 33.0) years) were included. Median follow-up was 11.6 (8.4; 16.3) years. No statistically significant difference in the growing rate of aorta, left ventricle, nor a significant worsening of aortic stenosis and regurgitation was found. Moreover, there was no significant correlation between weekly training minutes during follow-up and the echocardiographic parameters related to heart size and function.

Conclusions: In BAV without major complications, high training volumes do not correspond to a more rapid and significant deterioration in valve function nor to a more rapid increase in aortic or cardiac chamber size.

Keywords: athlete; bicuspid aortic valve; echocardiography; follow-up; pre-participation screening; sport.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors certify that there are no conflicts of interest with any financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Applying exclusion criteria on our BAV population, initially assessed for competitive eligibility or for second-level assessments related to BAV.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Differences in sports practised and cardiovascular commitment according to the European Society of Cardiology classification at first evaluation (left) and follow-up (right).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of weekly training volume (in minutes per week) between participants who declared to have stopped regular training during the follow-up and participants who declared to have continued regular training, according to IPAQ results.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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