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Effect of Six Months of Cardiac Rehabilitation on Autonomic Function in Coronary Artery Disease Patients
Author(s) -
Badrov Mark B,
Norton Katelyn N,
Lalande Sophie,
Suskin Neville,
Shoemaker J Kevin
Publication year - 2016
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.30.1_supplement.756.5
Subject(s) - medicine , microneurography , coronary artery disease , cardiology , heart rate , heart rate variability , autonomic nerve , baroreflex , blood pressure
We investigated the effects of a 6‐month exercise training‐based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program on autonomic function in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Twenty‐two CAD patients (4 women; 62 ± 8 yrs, 172 ± 9 cm, 86 ± 13 kg) were studied prior‐to and following six months of aerobic and resistance training‐based CR. Seventeen healthy aged‐matched controls were also studied (6 women; 60 ± 9 yrs, 169 ± 8 cm, 73 ± 14 kg). We evaluated resting blood pressure (BP; manual sphygmomanometry), muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA; microneurography; CAD, n = 14), heart rate variability (HRV; time‐ and frequency‐domain), and cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (BRS; sequence method). At baseline, prior to CR, CAD patients had greater burst frequency (48 ± 8 vs. 36 ± 8 bursts/min; P < 0.01) and burst incidence (81 ± 7 vs. 62 ± 10 bursts/100 heart beats; P < 0.01) in comparison to healthy controls. No differences at baseline between CAD patients and healthy controls were found for resting BP, any index of HRV, or cardiovagal BRS (all P > 0.05). Six months of exercise‐based CR lowered resting mean arterial BP (86 ± 10 to 83 ± 7 mmHg; P < 0.05) and systolic BP (122 ± 16 to 116 ± 11 mmHg; P < 0.05) in CAD patients. In CAD patients, CR reduced burst frequency (48 ± 8 to 39 ± 11 bursts/min; P < 0.01; d = 0.95) and burst incidence (81 ± 7 to 66 ± 17 bursts/100 heart beats; P < 0.01; d = 1.32). Also, following CR, and in contrast to pre‐CR, levels of MSNA were not significantly different between CAD and healthy controls for burst frequency ( P = 0.43) and burst incidence ( P = 0.39). No index of HRV (all P > 0.05) or cardiovagal BRS ( P = 0.78) was changed in CAD patients following CR. In conclusion, six months of exercise training‐based CR reduced baseline BP and sympathetic outflow in CAD patients to levels observed in healthy controls. Support or Funding Information Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Team Grant “Physical Activity, Mobility, and Neural Health” (Grant #217532).