Physical activity contributes to changes in cardiac morphology, which are known as “athlete’s heart”. Therefore, these modifications can be characterized using different imaging modalities such as echocardiography, including Doppler (flow Doppler and Doppler myocardial imaging) and speckle-tracking, along with cardiac magnetic resonance, and cardiac computed tomography. Echocardiography is the most common method for assessing cardiac structure and function in athletes due to its availability, repeatability, versatility, and low cost. It allows the measurement of parameters like left ventricular wall thickness, cavity dimensions, and mass. Left ventricular myocardial strain can be measured by tissue Doppler (using the pulse wave Doppler principle) or speckle tracking echocardiography (using the two-dimensional grayscale B-mode images), which provide information on the deformation of the myocardium. Cardiac magnetic resonance provides a comprehensive evaluation of cardiac morphology and function with superior accuracy compared to echocardiography. With the addition of contrast agents, myocardial state can be characterized. Thus, it is particularly effective in differentiating an athlete’s heart from pathological conditions, however, is less accessible and more expensive compared to other techniques. Coronary computed tomography is used to assess coronary artery anatomy and identify anomalies or diseases, but its use is limited due to radiation exposure and cost, making it less suitable for young athletes. A novel approach, hemodynamic forces analysis, uses feature tracking to quantify intraventricular pressure gradients responsible for blood flow. Hemodynamic forces analysis has the potential for studying blood flow within the heart and assessing cardiac function. In conclusion, each diagnostic technique has its own advantages and limitations for assessing cardiac adaptations in athletes. Examining and comparing the cardiac adaptations resulting from physical activity with the structural cardiac changes identified through different diagnostic modalities is a pivotal focus in the field of sports medicine.

中文翻译：

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运动员心脏的心脏成像：现状与未来展望

体力活动会导致心脏形态的变化，即所谓的“运动员心脏”。因此，可以使用不同的成像方式来表征这些修改，例如超声心动图，包括多普勒（血流多普勒和多普勒心肌成像）和散斑跟踪，以及心脏磁共振和心脏计算机断层扫描。超声心动图因其可用性、可重复性、多功能性和低成本而成为评估运动员心脏结构和功能的最常用方法。它可以测量左心室壁厚度、腔室尺寸和质量等参数。左心室心肌应变可以通过组织多普勒（使用脉冲波多普勒原理）或斑点跟踪超声心动图（使用二维灰度B型图像）来测量，其提供有关心肌变形的信息。与超声心动图相比，心脏磁共振可对心脏形态和功能进行全面评估，具有更高的准确性。通过添加造影剂，可以表征心肌状态。因此，它在区分运动员的心脏和病理状况方面特别有效，但与其他技术相比，它更难获得且更昂贵。冠状动脉计算机断层扫描用于评估冠状动脉解剖结构并识别异常或疾病，但由于辐射暴露和成本，其使用受到限制，使其不太适合年轻运动员。血流动力学力分析是一种新颖的方法，它使用特征跟踪来量化负责血流的心室内压力梯度。血流动力学分析具有研究心脏内血流和评估心脏功能的潜力。总之，每种诊断技术在评估运动员心脏适应方面都有其自身的优点和局限性。检查和比较身体活动引起的心脏适应性与通过不同诊断方式识别的结构性心脏变化是运动医学领域的关键焦点。