Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May 18;17(5):e84344.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.84344. eCollection 2025 May.

A Comparative Study Among Elite Female Volleyball Players and the General Population: Are All Valvular Regurgitations Benign?

Akin Torun  1 , Seckin Sari  2 , Arda Cinar  3 , Turan Cetinkaya  4 , Seher Yildiz  5 , Rayhana El Mounjali  5 , Batur Kanar  6
Affiliations

A Comparative Study Among Elite Female Volleyball Players and the General Population: Are All Valvular Regurgitations Benign?

Akin Torun et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Background: Despite the global popularity of volleyball as an Olympic sport, there is a relative paucity of research concerning its cardiovascular implications. Valvular regurgitation is a common finding among athletes and may lead to diagnostic ambiguity, particularly in elite female volleyball players.

Objectives: In this study, we conducted a comparative echocardiographic analysis between elite female volleyball athletes and a control group from the general population.

Method: Echocardiographic data of elite volleyball players from the Turkish Sultans League were compared with those of sedentary female controls. The frequency and severity of heart valve regurgitation were evaluated.

Results: A total of 31 elite athletes were included in the study and compared to 37 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Echocardiographic measurements revealed that the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was higher in athletes than in controls (48.0 ± 2.6 mm vs. 43.7 ± 2.5 mm, p = 0.04). Additionally, grade 2 mitral (p = 0.04) and tricuspid (p = 0.003) valve insufficiencies were more frequently observed in elite athletes compared to the control group. However, aortic valve insufficiency was not observed as a characteristic of the athlete's heart. All participants were asymptomatic.

Conclusion: Elite female volleyball players demonstrated a higher prevalence of mitral and tricuspid valve insufficiencies compared to healthy controls. Moreover, the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was significantly larger in athletes. However, no significant differences were observed in other echocardiographic parameters, and aortic valve insufficiency was not identified as a characteristic of the athlete's heart. Further studies are needed to provide more sport-specific data on these findings.

Keywords: athlete's heart; echocardiography; mitral insufficiency; tricuspid regurgitation; volleyball players.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Sağlik Bilimleri Bilimsel Arastirmalar Etik Kurulu issued approval 2025-06/67. Ethical approval was obtained from the Health Sciences Scientific Research Ethics Committee with the approval dated 25/03/2025. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

References

    1. Echocardiographic evaluation of the athlete's heart: focused review and update. Lee L, Addetia K, Singh A. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2022;24:1907–1916. - PubMed
    1. Racial and socioeconomic determinants of cardiovascular health: a comprehensive review. Borkowski P, Borkowska N, Mangeshkar S, Adal BH, Singh N. Cureus. 2024;16:0. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Echocardiography: profiling of the athlete's heart. Paterick TE, Gordon T, Spiegel D. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2014;27:940–948. - PubMed
    1. The athlete's heart: insights from echocardiography. Flanagan H, Cooper R, George KP, et al. Echo Res Pract. 2023;10:15. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Echocardiographic evaluation of the athlete's heart. Albaeni A, Davis JW, Ahmad M. Echocardiography. 2021;38:1002–1016. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources