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Breathing Exercises Modulate Heart Rate Variability in Individuals with Chronic Stroke
Author(s) -
Larson Mia,
Chantigian Dan,
Van de Winckel Ann,
KellerRoss Manda
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.854.3
Subject(s) - medicine , heart rate variability , breathing , stroke (engine) , heart rate , cardiology , diaphragmatic breathing , respiratory rate , anesthesia , physical therapy , blood pressure , mechanical engineering , alternative medicine , pathology , engineering
Background Autonomic dysfunction is common after stroke and increases risk of mortality. Heart rate variability (HRV) is an index of autonomic function and is lower in individuals after a stroke compared with healthy adults. Slow, paced breathing at six breaths per minute has been shown to increase HRV and may be an important therapeutic strategy to improve autonomic function in people with stroke. Objective To determine the influence of a slow, paced breathing intervention on HRV after stroke. Methods Nine participants (3 women, 52 ± 13.2 years old) with chronic stroke attended two counterbalanced visits, where they completed a 15 min breathing exercise. The slow, paced, device‐guided breathing exercise (SB) consisted of 6 breaths/min and the device‐guided control breathing exercise (CB) was set at 12 breaths/min. A 3‐lead electrocardiogram (ADInstruments) was used to measure heart rate (HR) and calculate measures of HRV during a ten‐minute, spontaneous breathing rest period before and after the breathing exercise. HRV measures were calculated in the frequency domain and included total power (TP), high frequency percent of total power (HF%) and low frequency percent of total power (LF%). Results TP did not change pre to post SB (146±198.6%, p = 0.1), but did increase during CB (101.8±107.6%, p = 0.01). LF% increased more for SB compared with CB (15.1±13.98%, 6.8±7.03%, respectively, p = 0.04). HF% did not change after SB (−7.04±11.73%, p = 0.13) nor after CB (−3.23±7.61%, p = 0.26). Heart rate decreased after CB (4.03±4.31 beats/min, p = 0.03), but did not change after SB (−0.34±6.37 beats/min, p = 0.92). Conclusion Unexpectedly, the control breathing (12 breaths/min) resulted in a consistent, moderate increase in HRV and a decrease in heart rate. Although slow breathing (6 breaths/min) had a greater effect on HRV for some individuals, the response was much more variable, suggesting that some individuals with chronic stroke may have a difficult time maintaining the slow pace. Consequently, we found 12 breaths/min to be sufficient and more manageable for some individuals after stroke. Further, controlled device‐based breathing can increase HRV and may serve as a complimentary adjunct therapy to improve autonomic function in people after stroke. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .