Left Ventricular Mass in Adolescent Basketball Players

Monty C. Morales MD, Gilbert W. Gleim PhD, Nino D. Marino MD, Nina S. Stachenfeld MA, Neil L. Coplan MD

From the Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, and the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, NY

Previous studies have demonstrated an increased left ventricular mass in professional basketball players. However, no data are available on left ventricular dimensions in adolescent basketball players. We used echocardiography to measure the left ventricular dimensions and left ventricular mass in 10 high-school basketball players aged 14 to 17 years. The left ventricular mass was then indexed and compared to published reference values for young males. The resulting data show that the 95% confidence intervals for left ventricular mass and ratio of left ventricular mass to height in well-trained adolescent basketball players lie above the 90th percentile of established normal values, and that the ratio of left ventricular mass to body surface area approaches the 90th percentile. The results of this study indicate that basketball training in an adolescent population is associated with an increased left ventricular mass and increased ratios of left ventricular mass to height and to body surface area.

Cardiovascular Reviews and Reports, 13(10):60-62.