Variability in heart rate recovery measurements over 1 year in healthy, middle-aged adults.

This study assessed the longer-term (12-month) variability in post-exercise heart rate recovery following a submaximal exercise test. Longitudinal data was analysed for 97 healthy middle-aged adults (74 male, 23 female) from 2 occasions, 12 months apart. Participants were retrospectively selected if they had stable physical activity habits, submaximal treadmill fitness and anthropometric measurements between the 2 assessment visits. A submaximal Bruce treadmill test was performed to at least 85% age-predicted maximum heart rate. Absolute heart rate and Δ heart rate recovery (change from peak exercise heart rate) were recorded for 1 and 2 min post-exercise in an immediate supine position. Heart rate recovery at both time-points was shown to be reliable with intra-class correlation coefficient values ≥ 0.714. Absolute heart rate 1-min post-exercise showed the strongest agreement between repeat tests (r = 0.867, P < 0.001). Lower coefficient of variation (≤ 10.2%) and narrower limits of agreement were found for actual heart rate values rather than Δ heart rate recovery, and for 1-min rather than 2-min post-exercise recovery time points. Log-transformed values generated better variability with acceptable coefficient of variation for all measures (2.2-10%). Overall, 1 min post-exercise heart rate recovery data had least variability over the 12-month period in apparently healthy middle-aged adults

The effects of baseline heart rate recovery normality and exercise training protocol on heart rate recovery in patients with heart failure

Objective: It is unclear which exercise training protocol yields superior heart rate recovery (HRR) improvement in heart failure (HF) patients. Whether baseline HRR normality plays a role in the improvement is unknown. We hypothesized that an exercise training protocol and baseline HRR normality would be factors in altering HRR in HF patients. Methods: In this prospective, randomized, controlled and 3 group parallel study, 41 stable HF patients were randomly assigned to 3-timesweekly training sessions for 12 weeks, consisting of i) 30 minutes of interval training (IT) (n=17, 63.7±8.8 years old) versus ii) 30 minutes of continuous training (CT) (n=13, 59.6±6.8 years old) versus iii) no training (CON) (n=11, 60.6±9.9 years old). Each patient had cardiopulmonary exercise testing before and after the training program. Maximum heart rates attained during the test and heart rates at 1 and 2 min (HRR1 and HRR2) during the recovery phase were recorded. Paired samples t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for comparisons before and after training. One-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis was used for comparisons among groups. Results: HRR1 was unchanged after training. HRR2 improved in the IT group after training, and post-training HRR2 values were significantly faster in the IT group than in controls. Both HRR1 and HRR2 was significantly faster, irrespective of exercise protocol in patients with abnormal baseline values after training. Conclusion: HRR1 did not improve after training. HRR2 improved only in the IT group. Both HRRs in patients with abnormal baseline values improved after both exercise protocols. IT might be superior to CT in improving HRR2. Baseline HRR might play a role in its response to exercise. © 2015 by Turkish Society of Cardiology

Exercise and heart rate recovery

Purpose: This study examines whether heart rate recovery (HRR) improves as a result of exercise training during cardiac rehabilitation (CR).Methods: A retrospective study was performed that included 100 patients who completed phase II CR and had entry and exit exercise stress tests. HRR was compared for the sample. Improvements in HRR were compared between gender and age groups. Correlation between age and HRR was performed. Results: The total sample improved HRR (P = .020). There was no significant difference in the improvement of HRR based on gender, indicating males and females improve at similar rates (P = .833). Similarly, there was no significant difference in the improvement of HRR based on age, indicating older subjects improve similarly to younger subjects (P = .700). There was no relationship between age and HRR; therefore, as age increases there is no decrease in HRR.Conclusion: HRR improves in patients who complete CR

Improvement of heart rate recovery after exercise training in older people.

Twenty-four subjects aged 70 and older were retrospectively selected from our archives and screened for symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Baseline exercise test was negative for myocardial ischemia in all subjects. All subjects had completed an 8-week program, performed for a variety of indications and consisting of an aerobic physical training program including 30 minutes of cycling three times per week at 65% to 75% of maximum heart rate achieved at peak exercise test performed at enrollment, an educational intervention, dietary advice, and psychological support. All subjects underwent a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPX) before and at the end of exercise training. At the end of each CPX, peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), the rate of increase of ventilation per unit of increase of carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO2slope), and HRR were recorded. Twenty-five healthy subjects younger than 60 with no evidence of exercise-induced myocardial ischemia and not enrolled in any exercise training program were also retrospectively selected from our archives and used as a control group for analyzing HRR. These patients performed two exercise tests several weeks apart. Several studies have shown that changes in vagal tone can be used as an outcome tool that helps identify patients or subjects with or without cardiovascular disease at risk for a cardiovascular event, although the evidence of a prognostic value of HRR in older subjects without cardiovascular disease is rather poor. In this study, exercise training resulted in HRR improvement in healthy elderly subjects, suggesting that exercise training improves vagal/sympathetic balance in older subjects without cardiovascular disease as well. Whether the observed improvement in HRR may have long-term beneficial prognostic effects was not the aim of the study, although a beneficial effect might be postulated, in light of the Framingham dat

Exercise heart rate recovery in obesity

Introduction: Obesity is an epidemic that carries significant cardiovascular (CV) burden. Autonomic dysfunction, characterized by reduced vagal tone and sympathetic overactivity, has been found in diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, metabolic syndrome, and other conditions. Heart rate decrease after exercise, or heart rate recovery (HRR) reflects cardiac autonomic activity. Decreased HRR is a powerful predictor of CV disease, CV and all-cause mortality.1-3 Patients and Methods: A total of 54 obese patients (24% male, 76% female), age 22-66 (mean 47 year), BMI 29.4-53.3 (mean 40.3 kg/m2), were enrolled in a multidisciplinary weight management program. Treadmill testing was done initially and after 6-month follow-up. Standard Bruce protocol was used to assess exercise capacity and passive HRR (15 sec, 3 and 6 min into the recovery period, as per institutional protocol). Control group was composed of age- and sex-matched non-obese subjects. Results: Obese subjects had significantly slower HRR (HRR0:15 6.1 vs. 9.1 BPM, HRR3:00 57.8 vs. 66.6 BPM, HRR6:00 63.3 vs. 72.7 BPM; p=0.0216, 0.0006, 0.0004, respectively). Exercise capacity was also significantly lower in comparison to control (6.7 vs. 8.6 METs; p=0.000001), with reduced exercise time (6.0 vs. 8.2 min; p=0.000001). Sixteen subjects that reached 6-month follow-up lost 5.4 kg on average. Exercise capacity increased mildly (6.4 to 7.1 METs; NS), as well as total exercise time (5.6 to 6.6 min; NS). Discussion and Conclusion: Physiological HRR kinetics follows exponential decay function. Rapid first phase, mediated by vagal reactivation is followed by a gradual HRR decline, dominated by sympathetic withdrawal. We found significantly slower HRR over different time-points in the obese, which reflects autonomic imbalance. Functional aerobic capacity was also significantly reduced. Somewhat improved functional capacity and dynamics of HRR after weight loss did not reach statistical power. To conclude, we found evidence of significantly impaired cardiac autonomic function in obese subjects, together with reduced functional capacity. As the study is ongoing, we hope to demonstrate sustained effect of exercise and diet on autonomic function. Potential benefit on mortality and CV risk reduction should encourage patients and health care providers to manage obesity more vigorously

Relationship between Arterial Stiffness and Heart Rate Recovery in Apparently Healthy Adults

Ding-Yu Fei1, Ross Arena2, James A Arrowood3, Kenneth A Kraft41Department of Biomedical Engineering, 2Department of Physical Therapy, 3Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, 4Department of Radiology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USAIntroduction: Arterial stiffness and heart rate recovery (HRR) following exercise testing have emerged as variables holding significant prognostic value in a number of populations. The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between arterial stiffness and HRR in a group of apparently healthy subjects.Methods: Two hundred and nine apparently healthy subjects underwent maximal exercise testing. Heart rate at one and two minutes post exercise was subtracted from maximal heart rate during the exercise test to produce two measures of heart rate recovery. Aortic wave velocity, in meters per second, was obtained via a new magnetic resonance technique. Results: Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between aortic wave velocity and heart rate recovery. Stepwise linear regression analysis revealed that age, maximal aerobic capacity, heart rate recovery at one minute, and diastolic blood pressure were all significant predictors of aortic wave velocity (r = 0.63, r2 = 0.40, p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate that heart rate recovery is significantly correlated with a measure of large artery stiffness and adds predictive value to other clinical variables. This analysis provides further evidence that assessment of heart rate recovery should be considered in subjects undergoing exercise testing in clinical practice.Keywords: exercise testing, oxygen consumption, aortic wave velocit

C-reactive protein and homocysteine levels are associated with abnormal heart rate recovery in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective: To determine heart rate recovery (HRR) in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and its relation to C-reactive protein (CRP) and homocysteine (Hcy) levels. Design: Prospective clinical study. Setting: University hospital. Patient(s): Sixty-eight women with PCOS and 68 healthy women were included this study. Intervention(s): Heart rate recovery was evaluated. We measured serum levels of CRP and Hcy. The presence of insulin resistance was investigated using homeostasis model assesment (HOMA-IR). Main Outcome Measure(s): Heart rate recovery, CRP, Hcy. Result(s): Heart rate recovery was significantly decreased in women with PCOS compared with control group women. Subjects with abnormal HRR had significantly greater levels of CRP and Hcy. The PCOS patients with HRR in the top tertile compared with the bottom quartile tended to have lower mean CRP and Hcy levels. The HRR was significantly and negatively correlated with age, CRP, Hcy, HOMA-IR, and body mass index. C-reactive protein and Hcy are independent determinants of HRR. Conclusion(s): The CRP and Hcy levels may affect the development and progression of abnormal HRR in PCOS

Pengaruh Pemberian Teh Hitam terhadap VO2max dan Pemulihan Denyut Nadi Pasca Melakukan Latihan Treadmill (The Effect of Black Tea on VO2max and Heart Rate Recovery Time after Treadmill Exercise)

In sports, caffeine is oftenly consumed as a stimulant in intense exercise. Caffeine consists in black tea with the content is about one third to eighth compared to black coffee, The aim of this research was to find out the effect of black tea to VO2max and heart rate recovery time after treadmill exercise. There were 2 groups. Control group which consumed placebo and treatment group which consumed black tea. Both group performed Bruce Treadmill Test Protocol. The results showed that the mean value of VO2max were 32,525 for control group and 38,442 for treatment group. Data analysis using T-paired test showed that treatment group had significantly higher VO2max value than control group (p=0,0001). Heart rate change data showed that heart rate frequency in treatment group from every fixed time was higher than the control group The heart rate recovery time was 59 minutes for control group and 66 minutes for treatment group. In conclusion, consumption of black tea before exercise would increase VO2max value and extend the heart rate recovery time.   Keywords: Black tea, VO2max, heart rate recovery, Bruce treadmill test protoco

Heart rate recovery in elite Spanish male athletes

Recuperación de la frecuencia cardiaca en atletas varones españoles During postexercise recovery, heart rate (HR) initially falls rapidly, followed by a period of slower decrease, until resting values are reached. The aim of the present work was to examine the differences in the recovery heart rate (RHR) between athletes engaged in static and dynamic sports