The term 'athlete's heart' refers to the plethora of electrical, structural, and functional cardiac adaptations that occur in athletes undertaking vigorous training regimens. The manifestations of cardiac adaptation to exercise can resemble the signs of cardiac disease that precede sudden cardiac death. Differentiation between athlete's heart and cardiac pathology presents a challenge for physicians. In this Review, Sheikh and Sharma describe the impact of ethnicity on cardiac adaptation to exercise, with a focus on black athletes, and discuss the impact of ethnically mediated changes on preparticipation cardiovascular evaluation.
- Nabeel Sheikh
- Sanjay Sharma
