By CHIOMA OBINNA
Barely two weeks after the death of an Italian soccer player, Mr. Piermario Morosini on the pitch, scientists have found that Left – Ventruclar Hyper-trabeculation, LVHT, a certain cardiomyopathies, (Chronic Disease of the heart muscle) to be more common in black, male athletes.

The study presented during the World Congress of Cardiology, WCC, organised by the World Heart Federation in Dubai recently, looked at 692 athletes and carried out in the United Kingdom.

The researchers found that LVHT, was more prevalent in athletes compared with non – athletes with about 6.8 per cent compared with 0.4 per cent. Moreover, LVHT was found to be significantly more common in black athletes than in other athletes, (13.2 per ent versus 4 per cent).

The study which subjected sedentary participants through cardiac evaluation that included ECG and Echocardiography stated that regular athletic training results in physiological adaptation of a person’s heart structure and function.

While many functional changes have been identified, LVHT has not previously been recognised as a feature of athlete’s heart rather LVHT is a known feature of cardiomyopathy, which remains the commonest cause of exercise – related sudden death inathletes.

Speaking on the result, which was analysed according to the European Society of Cardiology Sports Cardiology Consensus, Dr. Navin Chandra of St Georges University of London said: “The high prevalence of LVHT among athletes suggests that this may represent part of the spectrum of cardiac adaptations that are known to make up athletes heart”

According to Chandra, “Given that LVHT is a feature of sudden cardiac death, its prevalence among the athletes creates greater challenges for doctors trying to differentiate between athlete’s heart and a serious medical condition, particularly in black male athletes where the prevalence is much higher”.