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Effects of cardiovascular fitness and training history on heart rate variability before, during, and after a progressive maximal intensity exercise test (881.2)
Author(s) -
Flanagan Shawn,
Comstock Brett,
Looney David,
Sterczala Adam,
Dupont William,
DunnLewis Courtenay,
Kraemer William
Publication year - 2014
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.28.1_supplement.881.2
Subject(s) - heart rate variability , medicine , heart rate , aerobic exercise , physical therapy , sitting , heart failure , cardiology , exercise intensity , physical medicine and rehabilitation , blood pressure , pathology
Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non‐invasive clinical indicator of cardiovascular health. We sought to examine differences in HRV as a function of exercise choice, frequency, length of regular participation, and aerobic capacity. 83 men (age: 23 ± 4 yr; height: 181 ± 8 cm; body mass: 83 ± 12 kg) with varying exercise preferences participated in the investigation. Heart rate was monitored with a five‐lead electrocardiogram before, during, and after exercise. Each experimental stage was two minutes long: subjects sat, stood, and then cycled in 35 W increments until volitional failure, before sitting in recovery (heart rate max: 184 ± 13 BPM; max power output: 256 ± 54 W; estimated VO2peak 3.16 ± 0.63 [L ● Min ‐1]). Measures of HRV were provided by time domain, frequency, and non‐linear analyses. Principal component analysis was used to distinguish contributory factors for HRV; the reliability of this analysis was confirmed with Chronbach’s Alpha test. Despite the use of a seemingly homogenous sample of college students, our analysis indicated consistent differences in HRV. Specifically, HRV varied with exercise preferences (p蠄0.05), and higher aerobic capacity (determined by the cycle exercise test) was associated with significantly lower HRV (p蠄0.05). We conclude that the unique and specific health benefits of exercise may be reflected in HRV. While further work on long‐term training outcomes is needed, HRV may serve as an indicator of cardiovascular and neuronal adaptations to exercise.