Figure 6.

Sex differences in short-term fiber stretch and elastic response. Simulated short-term fiber stretch for male and female hearts, left and right, subject to the stroke volumes of healthy and athlete's hearts, top and bottom. In the healthy heart, simulated fiber stretches remain well within the physiological regime of 1.10 to 1.15, with a few local peaks on the order of 1.20. In the athlete's heart, simulated fiber stretches would exceed the physiological regime and reach values of 1.20 to 1.30, with almost the entire heart experiencing stretches above 1.20. Volume overload on the whole heart level induces an overstretch on the cellular level and triggers physiological adaptation in the athlete's heart. Male and female hearts respond similarly under both healthy and athletic conditions.