The cardiovascular profile of soccer referees: an echocardiographic study

G Galanti¹ , A Pizzi² , M Lucarelli² , L Stefani¹ , M Gianassi¹ , V Di Tante¹ , L Toncelli¹ , A Moretti¹ and F Del Furia¹

¹Postgraduate School of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine Laboratory Dept Emergency Medicine, University of Florence, Italy

²FIGC Federazione Italiana Gioco Calcio - AIA Associazione Italiana Arbitri, Italy

author email corresponding author email

Cardiovascular Ultrasound 2008, 6:8doi:10.1186/1476-7120-6-8


Published:	12 February 2008

Abstract

Background

During a soccer game, the cardiovascular system is severely taxed The referees must be alert and their level of fitness must be such that fatigue will not impair their decision-making. Referee's peak overall performance is usually after 40 when the performance starts to decline. We evaluated the morphological and functional cardiac profile of professional soccer referees.

Materials and methods

We submitted to a clinical and echocardiographic exam a group of 120 professional soccer referees aged 25 – 45 years, including the first division of the Italian Championship, matched with 120 soccer players, including élite soccer players. Data were compared using an unpaired Student's t test. Statistical significance was with p < 0.05.

Results

Right ventricle dimensions (22.2 ± 3.8 vs 25.9 ± 2.4 mm) and Left Ventricular Mass Index (LVMi) (100.5 ± 45.2 vs 105.4 ± 17.3) were significantly greater in referees than in active soccer players. Left atrium dimensions (33.7 ± 8.9 vs 36.2 ± 3.1 mm), aortic root (29.7 ± 7.9 vs 32.1 ± 3 mm) and LVMi (115.1 ± 16.7 vs 134.1 ± 19.9 g/m²) were significantly greater in élite soccer players than in first-division referees.

Conclusion

Our investigation shows that right ventricle is greater in referees than in soccer players. The differences (left atrium, aortic root and LVMi) between first division referees and élite soccer players may derive from the different training workloads.