Mitral valve prolapse and physical performance in Asian military males: The CHIEF Heart study

ABSTRACT

The impact of mitral valve prolapse (MVP) and mitral regurgitation (MR) on physical performance has not been examined. Of 1,808 physically fit Asian military males, we compared the physical fitness between 62 subjects with MVP (MVP(+)) and 1,311 age- and anthropometrics-matched controls from the 1,746 participants without MVP (MVP(-)). MVP and MR grade were defined based on the American Society of Echocardiography criteria. Aerobic endurance capacity was evaluated by a 3000-m run and muscular endurance capacity was separately evaluated by 2-min sit-ups and 2-min push-ups. Analysis of covariance was used to determine the difference between groups. As compared to the MVP(-), the MVP(+) completed the 3000-m run test faster (839.2 ± 65.3 sec vs. 866.6 ± 86.8 sec, p = 0.019), but did fewer push-ups (41.3 ± 3.92 vs. 48.0 ± 10.1, p = 0.02) and similar sit-ups within 2 min. Of the MVP(+), those with any MR (trivial, mild or moderate) completed the 3000-m run test faster than those without MR (830.6 ± 61.7 sec vs. 877.2 ± 61.7 sec, p = 0.02). Our findings suggest that in physically active Asian military males, the MVP(+) may have greater aerobic endurance capacity but lower muscular endurance capacity than the MVP(-). The presence of MR may play a role for the MVP(+) to have greater aerobic endurance capacity.

KEYWORDS:

• Mitral valve prolapse
• mitral regurgitation
• physical performance
• military male adults

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Author contributions

Wei-Nung Liu and An-Chieh Feng wrote and drafted the paper; Chu-Yu Hsu collected the paper; Kun-Zhe Tsai analysed the data; Huan-Chang Zeng, Pang-Yen Liu and Carl J. Lavie raised comments and edited the manuscript; Gen-Min Lin designed the study and was the principal investigator for the CHIEF study.

Data availability statement

This research uses the data from cardiorespiratory fitness and hospitalization events in armed forces (CHIEF)-Heart study. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Gen-Min Lin upon reasonable request.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2023.2260626.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by the Medical Affairs Bureau Ministry of National Defense (MND-MAB-D-112182) and Hualien Armed Forces General Hospital (HAFGH-D-112004).