Sports Cardiology: Current Status and Future Challenges
A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Cardiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 27 October 2026 | Viewed by 1372
Editor
Interests: athlete’s heart; cardiomyopathies; dyslipidemia; hypertension; heart remodelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Sports cardiology is a rapidly evolving multidisciplinary field that integrates cardiovascular medicine, exercise physiology, imaging, genetics, and performance science to optimize the cardiovascular health and safety of athletes and physically active individuals. Growing participation in recreational and competitive sports across all age groups, together with increasing longevity of elite athletes, has increased the need for precise cardiovascular evaluation, risk stratification, and individualized clinical management. At the same time, advances in cardiac imaging, wearable technologies, artificial intelligence, and molecular medicine are reshaping diagnostic and preventive strategies, creating new opportunities and challenges for clinicians and researchers.
This Special Issue will provide an up-to-date overview of the current clinical status of sports cardiology while highlighting emerging concepts and future directions. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, athlete’s heart characterization and differential diagnosis from cardiomyopathies, arrhythmia risk assessment, sudden cardiac death prevention, sex- and age-specific cardiovascular adaptations, and return-to-play decision-making. Particular emphasis is placed on advanced echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, myocardial and atrial mechanics, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, biomarkers, and the integration of multimodal data for personalized risk assessment.
In addition, the Special Issue welcomes contributions addressing the impacts of different training modalities (endurance, power, mixed, and skill sports) on cardiac remodeling and function, as well as the cardiovascular implications of extreme exercise, detraining, and long-term athletic exposure. Innovative methodologies, including machine learning approaches, digital health solutions, and large-scale registries, are strongly encouraged. Translational studies linking physiological mechanisms with clinical outcomes are also of high interest.
This Special Issue will stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue, promote methodological rigor, and foster clinically meaningful research to improve screening strategies, clinical decision-making, and athlete safety. Original research articles, systematic reviews, narrative reviews, and consensus-oriented perspectives are welcome. By bridging current evidence with future challenges, it seeks to support clinicians, scientists, and sports medicine professionals in advancing precision sports cardiology and evidence-based practice.
Dr. Giuseppe Di Gioia
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- sports cardiology
- athlete’s heart
- cardiac remodeling
- sudden cardiac death prevention
- advanced cardiac imaging
- cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET)
- myocardial and atrial strain
- arrhythmia risk stratification
- wearable technologies and digital health
- precision medicine in sports
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