Genetic and Environmental Determinants of the Small Heart Syndrome and Its Association With Heart Failure

A race against time: timing constraints of cardiac filling and athletic performance

LW Spencer, MD Flannery, K Janssens, Y Bekhuis, L Wright, EJ Howden, T Van Puyvelde, DL Prior, AM Mitchell, SJ Rowe, SJ Foulkes, A La Gerche

2026-05-01

Cardiac filling is constrained by a reduced ejection time and diastolic period as heart rate increases during exercise. We compare..

Cardiovascular Imaging Considerations for Masters-Aged Athletes

DM Phelan, G Claessen, TMH Eijsvogels, TW Churchill, EH Dineen, S Gati, JS Guseh, JJ Hsu, AB Shah, BW Sperry, MM Wasfy, A La Gerche, MW Martinez, M Papadakis, AL Baggish, JH Kim

2026-04-01

Masters athletes (MAs), defined as individuals ≥35 years of age who are engaged in competitive or high-volume recreational sports ..

Maybe Valsalva, but please consider big hearts in middle-aged athletes as an explanation for atrial fibrillation prevalence

A La Gerche, LW Spencer, M Myrstad, DM Flannery

2026-04-01

Exercise blood pressure response does not differentiate endurance athletes with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Kristel Janssens, Turid Apelland, Amy M Mitchell, Jarne De Paepe, Stephen J Foulkes, Jon Magne Letnes, Andreas Berg Sellevold, Steve Enger, Youri Bekhuis, Christophe Dausin, Luke Spencer, Stephanie J Rowe, Paolo D'Ambrosio, Evelyn B Parr, Rik Willems, Hein Heidbuchel, Guido Claessen, Marius Myrstad, Andre La Gerche, null Master@Heart consortium

2026-03-10

AIM: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is more prevalent among endurance athletes than in the general population. An exaggerated blood pres..

Scleroderma clinical trials consortium classification criteria for systemic sclerosis heart involvement

L Ross, AT Burns, A La Gerche, D Hansen, JG Coghlan, W Stevens, D Prior, A Pham, P McKelvie, C Bellocchi, Y Braun Moscovici, C Bruni, P Carreira, T Frech, S Hoa, M Hudson, V Hsu, A Hsiu Ling Low, M Matucci-Cerinic, B Medina Fonseca

2026-03-05

OBJECTIVES: Systemic sclerosis-associated heart involvement (SHI) is an enigmatic disease manifestation associated with high morta..

Left atrioventricular ratio (LA:LV): using left ventricular size as the reference for identifying maladaptive left atrial remodelling

LW Spencer, S Moura Ferreira, M Milani, SJ Rowe, Y Bekhuis, M Falter, T Van Puyvelde, K Janssens, AM Mitchell, P D’Ambrosio, B Delpire, R Pauwels, L Wright, EJ Howden, G Claessen, A La Gerche, J Verwerft

2026-03-01

Introduction Remodelling of the left atrium (LA) and left ventricle (LV) occurs in response to pathological and physiological stim..

Increased Skeletal Muscle Fat in Patients With Haematological Cancer Is Associated With Reduced Cardiorespiratory Fitness

N Saner, S Foulkes, H Dillon, L Burnham, R Thompson, A La Gerche, M Haykowsky, E Howden

2026-02-01

Background: Patients with haematological cancer often exhibit reduced cardiorespiratory fitness and an elevated risk of cardiovasc..

Diagnostic accuracy of different exercise blood pressure metrics in identifying hypertension on 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in athletes

K Janssens, SJ Foulkes, P D’Ambrosio, AM Mitchell, SJ Rowe, Y Bekhuis, L Spencer, EB Parr, GA Head, H Heidbuchel, G Claessen, A La Gerche

2026-01-01

Exercise blood pressure (BP) metrics have been promoted as a means of identifying latent or mild hypertension in athletes. We eval..

Increased incidence of sudden cardiac death in systemic sclerosis: data from a nationwide cohort study

JL Fairley, E Paratz, D Hansen, S Proudman, J Sahhar, GS Ngian, D Apostolopoulos, J Walker, LV Host, W Stevens, A La Gerche, M Nikpour, L Ross

2026-01-01

Objective: To evaluate incidence and risk factors of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Methods: Individuals ..

Resting Oxygen Consumption Estimates in Scleroderma Can Lead to Underestimation of Cardiac Output

O Cullen, L Ross, JL Fairley, LW Spencer, AM Mitchell, SJ Rowe, K Janssens, Y Bekhuis, SJ Foulkes, P D'Ambrosio, M Calvo-Lopez, K Newcomb, A La Gerche, AT Burns

2026-01-01

Accurate resting oxygen consumption (rVO<inf>2</inf>) quantification is critical for Fick-derived cardiac output calculations. Yet..

Atrial fibrillation in former world-class rowers: role of environmental and genetic factors

MD Flannery, R Canovas, K Janssens, AM Mitchell, P D’Ambrosio, LW Spencer, SJ Rowe, ED Paratz, G Claessen, M Myrstad, S Ruiz-Carmona, PE Young, M Ohanian, M Soka, EM Rath, E Giannoulatou, R Johnson, C Yu, P Lacaze, AD Elliott

2025-12-14

Background and Aims Endurance sport has been associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of this study ..

Arrhythmias and structural remodeling in lifelong and retired master endurance athletes

P D'Ambrosio, J De Paepe, K Janssens, AM Mitchell, SJ Rowe, LW Spencer, T Van Puyvelde, J Bogaert, O Ghekiere, R Pauwels, L Herbots, T Robyns, PM Kistler, JM Kalman, H Heidbuchel, R Willems, G Claessen, A La Gerche

2025-12-01

Background: A greater prevalence of arrhythmias has been described in endurance athletes, but it remains unclear whether this risk..

“Letter to “Pathological contributors to organ damage and mortality in systemic sclerosis: A nationwide matched case-control study”: Author's Reply

JL Fairley, L Ross, E Paratz, P McKelvie, A La Gerche, M Nikpour

2025-12-01

Balancing Exercise Benefits Against Heartbeat Consumption in Elite Cyclists

T Van Puyvelde, K Janssens, L Spencer, P D'Ambrosio, M Ray, SJ Foulkes, MJ Haykowsky, G Claessen, R Willems, A La Gerche

2025-10-01

Central Illustration

Pathological contributors to organ damage and mortality in systemic sclerosis: a nationwide matched case-control study

JL Fairley, L Ross, E Paratz, P McKelvie, D Hansen, W Stevens, A La Gerche, M Nikpour

2025-08-01

Background: Mortality is increased in systemic sclerosis (SSc), including a 10–15-fold increase in sudden cardiac death. Limited h..

Similar But Different: Exercise-Induced vs Mutation-Dependent Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy

A La Gerche, H Heidbuchel

2025-08-01

Blood pressure response to graded bicycle exercise in males and females across the age and fitness spectrum

K Janssens, SJ Foulkes, AM Mitchell, C Dausin, S Van Soest, L Spencer, SJ Rowe, P D’Ambrosio, AD Elliott, T Van Puyvelde, EB Parr, R Willems, H Heidbuchel, G Claessen, A La Gerche

2025-01-01

Aims Blood pressure (BP) responses to exercise are frequently measured, with the concern that greater increases are a marker of di..

Mechanistic Insights Into Reduced Arrhythmia Prevalence in Female Endurance Athletes

P D'Ambrosio, J De Paepe, SJ Rowe, K Janssens, AM Mitchell, T Van Puyvelde, LW Spencer, J Bogaert, O Ghekiere, R Pauwels, L Herbots, T Robyns, PM Kistler, JM Kalman, H Heidbuchel, R Willems, G Claessen, A La Gerche, Y Bekhuis, P Hespel

2025-01-01

Background: Female athletes exhibit lower rates of atrial fibrillation (AF) and sudden cardiac death compared with male athletes, ..

Small Heart Size and Premature Death in 366,484 Individuals With Normal Ejection Fraction

SJ Rowe, ED Paratz, L Fahy, K Janssens, LW Spencer, P D'Ambrosio, G Strange, DL Prior, D Playford, AL Gerche

2025-01-01

Background: In patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), small ventricular size has been associated with ..

Atrial cardiomyopathy in endurance athletes.

LW Spencer, P D'Ambrosio, M Ohanian, SJ Rowe, K Janssens, G Claessen, D Fatkin, A La Gerche

2024-11-21

Atrial cardiomyopathy is characterized by electrical and structural remodeling of the atria, which can predispose to arrhythmias a..