MiscellaneousComparison of National Football League Linemen Versus Nonlinemen of Left Ventricular Mass and Left Atrial Size
Section snippets
Methods
The Living Heart Foundation, an Institutional Review Board-approved nonprofit organization, conducted an open multicity health screening for retired NFL players between August 2003 and June 2006. Retired NFL players were mailed a letter, signed by a representative of the NFL Players Association, inviting them to a no-fee health screening in their area; 574 participants self-reported demographic, ethnicity, medical, and professional career information. Retired players who played tackle, guard,
Results
Demographic, medical, and professional career information is listed in Table 1; 574 participants were screened, 32% were retired linemen, and 68% were nonlinemen. Of the 574 former players, 487 players (85%) underwent complete echocardiograms during screening and were included in this study. There was no significant difference between linemen and nonlinemen in age, years played in the NFL, and years since retirement. There was a significant difference between the retired linemen and nonlinemen
Discussion
Our study is the first to examine cardiac morphology in retired NFL players. A previous echocardiographic report of elite college football players demonstrated increased LV mass compared with controls.3 Whether cardiac morphological changes that occur during the career of professional football players persist into retirement is unknown. We found that retired linemen had higher LV mass and larger left atria than retired nonlinemen long after deconditioning. We also found that retired linemen had
References (21)
- et al.
Echocardiographic characteristics of professional football players
J Am Coll Cardiol
(2003) - et al.
Recommendations for quantification of Doppler echocardiography: a report from the Doppler quantification task force of the nomenclature and standards committee of the American Society of Echocardiography
J Am Soc Echocardiogr
(2002) - et al.
Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular hypertrophy: comparison to necropsy findings
Am J Cardiol
(1986) - et al.
Prediction of mortality by different methods of indexation for left ventricular mass
J Am Coll Cardiol
(1997) - et al.
Recommendations for chamber quantification: a report from the American Society of Echocardiography's Guidelines and Standards Committee and the Chamber Quantification Writing Group, developed in conjunction with the European Association of Echocardiography, a branch of the European Society of Cardiology
J Am Soc Echocardiogr
(2005) - et al.
Prevalence and clinical significance of left atrial remodeling in competitive athletes
J Am Coll Cardiol
(2005) - et al.
Pathophysiologic assessment of hypertensive heart disease with echocardiography
Am J Cardiol
(1977) - et al.
Left atrial enlargement: an early sign of hypertensive disease
Am Heart J
(1988) - et al.
NIOSH Mortality Study of NFL Football Players: 1959-1988
- et al.
Prognostic implications of echocardiographically determined left ventricular mass in the Framingham Heart Study
N Engl J Med
(1990)
Cited by (41)
Weight Gain and Health Affliction Among Former National Football League Players
2018, American Journal of MedicineCitation Excerpt :Although the sport of football may select for inherently large individuals, some athletes gain significant amounts of weight during their careers.9 Limited prior data suggest that the largest football athletes are at the highest risk of adverse health profiles.3, 10-12 Among the general population, obesity is associated with diseases of numerous organ systems13-15 and increased mortality,16 and is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.17
Obesity in the fifth quarter: A malignancy in former NFL players significance and potential
2018, Surgery for Obesity and Related DiseasesSleep-Disordered Breathing and Cardiovascular Correlates in College Football Players
2017, American Journal of CardiologyCitation Excerpt :Participants were required to abstain from exercise for ≥24 hours before data collection time points. Field position for each ASF participant was classified as either lineman (LM) or nonlineman (NLM) as previously proposed.8 Each participant was subject to performance-enhancing drug testing as per National Collegiate Athletic Association standards.
Blood Pressure and LV Remodeling Among American-Style Football Players
2016, JACC: Cardiovascular ImagingCitation Excerpt :Field position for each participant was classified as either lineman or nonlineman. Linemen included players at tackle, guard, center, or defensive end positions, whereas nonlinemen included quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, linebackers, cornerbacks, safeties, kickers, and punters (22). Each participant was tested for performance-enhancing drugs as dictated by National Collegiate Athletic Association standards.
Cardiac Remodeling in American-Style Football Players: Field Position Matters
2016, JACC: Cardiovascular ImagingEchocardiographic and Blood Pressure Characteristics of First-Year Collegiate American-Style Football Players
2016, American Journal of CardiologyCitation Excerpt :The relative wall thickness ratio was also greater in NFL athletes measuring 0.424 compared with 0.390 in our younger players, most likely indicative of cardiac remodeling resulting from NFL players' longer history of strength and power training.7 Croft et al8 reported all echo LV dimensions significantly greater in retired NFL linemen than nonlinemen, and that body mass index and systolic BP were significant predictors of LV mass. A post hoc analysis of our data similarly revealed that LV mass was significantly larger in collegiate ASF linemen (240 ± 43 g) compared to nonlinemen (200 ± 42 g).
Adam Belanger received funding from The Doris Duke Clinical Research Foundation.
Dr. Roberts received funding from Phillips, Siemens, Pfizer, General Electric, ResMed, and the Professional Athletes Trust Fund.