Geert Kleinnibbelink

Chapter 3 74 Table 1. Subject characteristics: prior to and post-training program Pre Post p-value Sex (m/f ) 10/5 Age (yr) 22.0±2.4 Height (cm) 172±11 Body Mass (kg) 71.2±11.7 70.3±12.3 0.17 BMI (kg/m2) 24.0±3.0 23.6±2.7 0.14 BSA (kg) 1.84±0.19 1.83±0.20 0.18 Resting HR (bpm) 77±10 66±6 <0.001 Resting SBP (mmHg) 118±4 113±9 0.02 Resting DBP (mmHg) 67±8 63±5 0.07 Resting MAP (mmHg) 84±6 80±6 0.03 VO2max (L/min) 3.7±0.7 3.9±0.8 <0.001 VO2max/kg (mL/min/kg) 52±7 56±7 <0.001 VE (L/min) 138±29 145±34 0.002 HRmax (bpm) 199±8 195±7 0.008 Data are expressed as means±SD. m, male. f, female. BMI, body mass index. BSA, body surface area. HR, heart rate. SBP, systolic blood pressure. DBP, diastolic blood pressure. MAP, mean arterial pressure. VO 2 max, maximal oxygen uptake. VE, ventilation. Cardiac adaptations to hypoxic exercise training There was a significant increase in RV and RA size following the training intervention (all p < 0.05) ( Table 2 ). Exercise training caused an increase in RVFAC (p=0.03), whilst no other significant changes in RV function were observed (all p > 0.05) ( Table 2 ). In addition to a rightward shift of the strain-area loop (increased RVEDA), exercise training significantly decreased uncoupling and slopes of the RV strain-area loop ( Table 2, Figure 3A ). In contrast to the structural adaptation of the RV, exercise training did not alter LV structure ( Table 2 ). Systolic LV function andmechanics, including LV loops, did not change following training (all p > 0.05) ( Figure 3B ). Regarding diastolic function, A velocity decreased (p=0.002), resulting in an increased E/A ratio (p=0.005).