[Anatomical, functional, and genetic peculiarities of myocardial hypertrophy in athletes].

"Athletes Heart" (AH) is a complex of structural, electrophysiological, and functional changes - a consequence of physiological adaptation to regular physical exercise. AH is characterized by biventricular hypertrophy of ventricular myocardium at the background of unchanged parameters of systolic and diastolic function and depends on the type of exercise, body dimensions, sex, and genotype. Although degree of hypertrophy in AH in most cases does not exceed generally accepted limits problems of differential diagnostics of AH and other cardiovascular diseases manifesting by myocardial hypertrophy appear to be most actual. Contemporary possibilities of molecular genetic methods for detection of cause of myocardial hypertrophy are described.