About Sports cardiology

Physical activity increases life expectancy and sport is - a priori - not harmful. Exercise exhaustion (e.g. endurance running, triathlon, cycling or competitive sports) can lead in some cases to negative cardiac remodeling or in worst-case scenario to cardiac arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. With the new F1000Research Sports cardiology collection, we aim to discuss issues relating to myocardial hypertrophy and injury due to different sport activities such as endurance sport, strength/power sport (e.g. bodybuilding, weight lifting) and others.

The Sports cardiology collection will be of interest to those patients who want to improve their physical performance, to healthy people who want to maintain their physical fitness, to professional athletes or firefighters, police officers or soldiers who need to be in good health to perform best in their jobs.

We welcome submissions on all aspects relating to sport cardiology, and encourage opinion articles to stimulate discussion on controversial subjects. Life-prolonging training frequency, training methods (e.g. aerobic, continuous or high-intensity interval training (HIT)) and methods of pre-participation and long-term follow-up screenings, especially in the case of drop in performance, will also be discussed.

Cardiorespiratory fitness screening for sport activities has a lot of faces. For example, patients with diabetes, coronary disease, obesity, cancer or hypertension require a different type of sport cardiologic management; thus, there is a need for specific examinations or possible preventive measures during pre-competition screenings (including genetic screening).

The positive social and medical impact of physical activity and sports remains indisputable. In a field of medical care tension for patients, healthy people, fitness fans, fanatic athletes and members of performance professions, the F1000Research Sports cardiology collection will offer different views and perspectives.

Publishing a collection on sports cardiology is like starting an open book without planned end, especially in an area which is subject to constant changes and updates on a regular basis. Today, even more alternatives are offered in the age of internet to be up-to-date and to document recent developments. The Sports cardiology collection, with its transparency and accessibility, offers this opportunity.