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JFMK
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Exercise Interventions in Cardiovascular Health
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Exercise Interventions in Cardiovascular Health

A special issue of Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology (ISSN 2411-5142). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Exercise for Health Promotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 494

Editor

Dr. Laura Stefani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sport Medicine Center, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
Interests: physical exercise; training; non-communicable chronic diseases; sedentary time; cardio-metabolic and inflammatory risk biomarkers; nutritional integration; functional evaluation; long-term efficacy of physical exercise; exercise prescription in non-communicable chronic disease and in solid organ transplantations; cardiotoxicity; echocardiographic deformation parameters
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I have the pleasure of inviting you to contribute to this Special Issue of JFMK, titled "Exercise Interventions in Cardiovascular Health", which aims to explore diverse training strategies for enhancing Cardiovascular Health in athletes as well as in cases of metabolic chronic diseases or cardiopaties not included in the sports certifications.

The strategy to optimize athletic capabilities among patients is a new field of interest in sports medicine, which is dedicated to enhancing longevity and reducing comorbidities. In addition, the new entry categories of subjects affected by relevant not communicable disease, such as solid organs transplanted, represent a new field of action in sports medicine:

  • Effective training methods for developing muscular strength and power.
  • Effects of exercises on arrhythmias.
  • Innovative approaches for improving exercise tolerance.
  • The integration of non-invasive cardiologic evaluation with body composition and CPET exam.
  • Advancements in exercise physiology, biomechanics and sports science related to performance optimization.

Dr. Laura Stefani
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • non-communicable chronic disease
  • cardiovascular disease
  • exercise prescription
  • arrhythmias

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 1694 KB  
Article
Early Cardiac Responses to Half-Marathon Running in Amateur Athletes: Implications for Cardiovascular Health and Safe Exercise Participation
by Kyriakos-Marios Oikonomou, Apostolia Ntovoli, Nikolaos Koutlianos, Maria Anifanti, Christos Mantzios, Sotiria Iliopoulou, Anastasia Mata, Ilias Marios Oikonomou, Kostas Alexandris and Evangelia Kouidi
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2026, 11(2), 211; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk11020211 - 27 May 2026
Viewed by 333
Abstract
Background: Recreational half-marathon participation is increasing, particularly among middle-aged amateur runners, yet the interpretation of early post-race cardiac findings remains challenging in exercise-based cardiovascular health evaluation. This exploratory study assessed early post-race changes in left ventricular diastolic indices and circulating biomarkers in [...] Read more.
Background: Recreational half-marathon participation is increasing, particularly among middle-aged amateur runners, yet the interpretation of early post-race cardiac findings remains challenging in exercise-based cardiovascular health evaluation. This exploratory study assessed early post-race changes in left ventricular diastolic indices and circulating biomarkers in 20 healthy amateur runners (80% male; mean age 50.7 ± 12.3 years) after the 11th PELLA HALF MARATHON (21.1 km). Methods: Participants underwent transthoracic echocardiography and venous blood sampling within 30 days before the race and within 30 min after finishing. Diastolic assessment included the E/A ratio, tissue Doppler early diastolic myocardial velocity (e′), the E/e′ ratio, isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT), and left atrial area. Biomarkers included C-reactive protein (CRP), creatine phosphokinase (CPK), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI). Results: Post-race assessment showed a consistent pattern of lower early diastolic filling/relaxation indices, higher IVRT and left atrial area, and significant increases in all measured biomarkers. hs-cTnI exceeded the sex-specific 99th percentile upper reference limit in 7/20 participants (35%). Conclusions: Half-marathon completion was associated with early echocardiographic and biomarker changes in this cohort of amateur runners. These findings are consistent with acute physiological cardiac stress and may help clinicians contextualise early post-race abnormalities when advising on vigorous endurance exercise participation. However, subclinical myocardial injury cannot be excluded without serial biomarker assessment and advanced imaging, and the findings should be interpreted as exploratory because of the small convenience sample, absence of a control group, lack of hydration assessment, and single early post-race timepoint. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exercise Interventions in Cardiovascular Health)
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