Can resting heart rate explain the heart rate and parasympathetic responses during rest, exercise, and recovery?

The effect of resting heart rate (RHR) on the heart rate (HR) dynamics and parasympathetic modulation at rest, exercise, and recovery remain to be clarified. This study compares HR and parasympathetic responses at rest, during submaximal exercise testing and recovery in young, physically active men with different RHR average values. HR and parasympathetic responses were compared between two groups: bradycardia group-RHR < 60 bpm (BG, n = 20) and normocardia group-RHR ≥ 60 ≤ 100 bpm (NG, n = 20). A Polar RS800® was used to record the RR-interval series and HR at rest in the supine position, following the postural change (from supine to orthostatic position) and in the orthostatic position for 5 minutes, as well as during and after a submaximal exercise testing. Statistical analysis employed the MANOVA, Mann-Whitney, and Simple Linear regression test with a two-tailed p-value set at ≤ 0.05. BG at rest showed lower HR in the orthostatic position, higher parasympathetic activity in the supine and orthostatic positions, and higher parasympathetic reactivity than NG (p ≤ 0.01) after the postural change. BG before exercise showed lower HR and higher values of the chronotropic reserve and parasympathetic withdrawal than NG (p ≤ 0.01) throughout the exercise. Following the exercise, BG showed higher values of HR recovery (HRR) and parasympathetic reactivation in the 3rd and 5th minutes of recovery than NG (p ≤ 0.01). Lastly, the RHR can explain the variance of the HR at rest, during exercise testing, and recovery from 11 to 48%. We concluded that BG (RHR < 60 bpm) showed higher chronotropic and parasympathetic modulation at rest, higher chronotropic reserve, parasympathetic withdrawal during the submaximal exercise test, and faster HRR and parasympathetic reactivation after effort in young physically active men.

Effects of Breakfast Omission on Resting, Exercise, and Postexercise Autonomic and Hemodynamic Profile in Men.

Purpose: The acute effects of fasting interventions on metabolic dynamics have been widely investigated. However, knowledge about the acute effect of overnight fasting on hemodynamic and cardiac autonomic modulation is limited, especially during and after exercise. Our objective was to investigate the effects of breakfast omission on hemodynamic and cardiac autonomic modulation during different stress conditions. Method: Twenty-one young men [age: 20.3 (20.1, 26.5 years); body mass index: 22.7 (21.4, 24.4 kg/m2)] underwent resting and postexercise blood pressure assessments and heart rate variability (HRV) analysis, using the SD1 and SD2 indices of Poincaré plots, at rest in supine and standing positions, every 10 minutes during moderate cardiorespiratory training and every 10 minutes throughout the postexercise recovery phase, for a total of 30 minutes for each phase (exercise and recovery). All measurements were performed in a randomized order after overnight fasting or 60 minutes after a breakfast containing ~20% of the total recommended daily calories. The normality hypothesis was rejected, and the Wilcoxon test was conducted to compare the interventions (p < .05). Results: No differences between interventions were observed for resting and postexercise blood pressures (p = .21 to 0.87) or for resting, exercise, and postexercise SD1 (p = .10 to 0.82) and SD2 indices (p = .14 to 0.71). Conclusions: We concluded that overnight fasting does not promote significant changes in resting and postexercise blood pressures or cardiac autonomic modulation in young men at rest (in supine and standing positions), during 30 minutes of moderate cardiorespiratory training and throughout a 30-minute postexercise recovery phase.

High-Intensity Interval Training Combined with Different Types of Exercises on Cardiac Autonomic Function. An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study in CrossFit® Athletes.

It is well established that endurance exercise has positive effects on cardiac autonomic function (CAF). However, there is still a dearth of information about the effects of regular high-intensity interval training combined with different types of exercises (HIITCE) on CAF. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to compare CAF at rest, its reactivity, and reactivation following maximal exercise testing in HIITCE and endurance athletes. METHODS: An observational study was conducted with 34 male athletes of HIITCE (i.e., CrossFit®) [HG: n = 18; 30.6 ± 4.8 years] and endurance athletes (i.e., triathlon) [TG.: n = 16; 32.8 ± 3.6 years]. We analyzed 5 min of frequency-domain indices (TP, LF, HF, LFn, HFn, and LF/HF ratio) of heart rate variability (HRV) in both supine and orthostatic positions and its reactivity after the active orthostatic test. Post-exercise heart rate recovery (HRR) was assessed at 60, 180, and 300 s. Statistical analysis employed a non-parametric test with a p-value set at 5%. RESULTS: The HG showed reduced HFn and increased LFn modulations at rest (supine). Overall cardiac autonomic modulation (TP) at supine and all indices of HRV at the orthostatic position were similar between groups. Following the orthostatic test, the HG showed low reactivity for all HRV indices compared to TG. After the exercise, HRR does not show a difference between groups at 60 s. However, at 180 and 300 s, an impairment of HRR was observed in HG than in TG. CONCLUSION: At rest (supine), the HG showed reduced parasympathetic and increased sympathetic modulation, low reactivity after postural change, and impaired HRR compared to TG.

Cardiorespiratory fitness assessment among firefighters: Is the non-exercise estimate accurate?

BACKGROUND: Minimum cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been recommended for firefighters due to job requirements. Thus, it is important to identify accurate and readily available methods to assess CRF in this population. Non-exercise CRF estimates (NEx-CRF) have been proposed but this approach requires validation in this population. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of a NEx-CRF, as compared to a field maximum exercise test, among career military firefighters of both genders using a comprehensive agreement analysis. METHODS: We evaluated the accuracy of a NEx-CRF estimate compared to the Cooper 12 min running test among 702 males and 106 female firefighters. RESULTS: Cooper and NEx-CRF tests yielded similar CRF in both genders (differences <1.8±4.7 ml/kg-1.min-1; effect size <0.34). However, NEx-CRF underestimated Cooper-derived CRF among the fittest firefighters. NEx-CRF showed moderate to high sensitivity/specificity to detect fit or unfit firefighters (71.9% among men and 100% among women). Among men, the NEx-CRF method correctly identified most firefighters with less than 11 METs or greater than 13 METs, but showed lower precision to discriminate those with CRF between 11-13 METs. CONCLUSIONS: The NEx-CRF method to estimate firefighters' CRF may be considered as an alternative method when an exercise-based method is not available or may be used to identify those who require more traditional testing (CRF 11-13 METs).

The effects of varying doses of caffeine on cardiac parasympathetic reactivation following an acute bout of anaerobic exercise in recreational athletes.

BACKGROUND: To examine the effects of varying doses of caffeine on autonomic reactivation following anaerobic exercise. METHODS: Recreationally active males (N = 20; 24 ± 2y) participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study where participants ingested: [1] Control (CON; no supplement), [2] a non-caffeinated placebo (PLA), [3] 3-mg∙kg- 1 of caffeine (CAF3) or [4] 6-mg∙kg- 1 of caffeine (CAF6) prior to Wingate testing. Parasympathetic (lnRMSSD, primary outcome) and global HRV (lnSDNN, secondary outcome) were assessed at rest (i.e., pre-ingestion), 45-min post-ingestion, and 5-min and 35-min post-exercise recovery. We used a GLM to assess mean (95% CI) changes from pre-ingestion baseline. RESULTS: Overall, we observed a significant trend for lnRMSSD and lnSDNN (both, p = 0.001, ηp2 = 0.745). Forty-five minutes after treatment ingestion, we observed a significant increase in lnRMSSD for CAF3 (0.15 ms, 95%CI, 0.07,0.24) and CAF6 (0.16 ms, 95%CI, 0.06,0.25), both being significant (both, p <  0.004) vs. CON (- 0.02 ms, 95%CI, - 0.09,0.04). Five-minutes after exercise, all treatments demonstrated significant declines in lnRMSSD vs. baseline (all, p <  0.001). After 35-min of recovery, lnRMSSD returned to a level not significantly different than baseline for CAF3 (0.03 ms, 95%CI, - 0.05, 0.12) and CAF6 (- 0.03 ms, 95%CI, - 0.17, 0.10), while PLA (- 0.16 ms, 95%CI, - 0.25, - 0.06) and CON (- 0.17 ms, 95%CI, - 0.28, - 0.07) treatments remained significantly depressed. A similar pattern was also observed for SDNN. CONCLUSION: Caffeine ingestion increases resting cardiac autonomic modulation and accelerates post-exercise autonomic recovery after a bout of anaerobic exercise in recreationally active young men. However, no differences between caffeine doses on cardiac autonomic reactivity were observed.

Impact of heart rate on reproducibility of heart rate variability analysis in the supine and standing positions in healthy men.

OBJECTIVE: The reliability of heart rate variability (HRV) analysis is not yet fully understood, especially considering different body positions and the mathematical influence of heart rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of HRV in supine and standing positions, with and without mathematical adjustment of HRV by the average R-R interval (iRR). METHODS: We evaluated 37 young males (23.1±4 years; 25.1±3 kg/m2). A 5-min segment of the iRR was collected in the supine and standing positions on three occasions separated by 48-hour intervals. Absolute and relative reliability of temporal and spectral indices were assessed by the coefficient of variation (CV) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), respectively. RESULTS: We did not observe differences in HRV indices in the three occasions in the supine or standing position (p>0.05). Moderate to good reproducibility was observed for temporal and spectral indices of HRV in the supine position (ICC: 0.65-0.89; CV: 0.9-19.8). In the orthostatic position, low to good reproducibility was observed (ICC: 0.35-0.89; CV: 1.1-34.8), with higher ICCs for temporal indices. After mathematical adjustment, only a small modification in HRV reliability was observed in both positions. CONCLUSIONS: In young adult males, the mathematical adjustment of HRV by the average iRR led to a nonsignificant effect on HRV reliability. Additionally, HRV reliability is dependent on body position and the index analyzed. Promising measures in both supine and standing positions include r-MSSD and the HF band (parasympathetic indices).

Caffeine increases parasympathetic reactivation without altering resting and exercise cardiac parasympathetic modulation: A balanced placebo design.

The sympathicotonic effect of caffeine is strongly evidenced in the literature. However, the effects of caffeine or caffeine expectancy on the cardiac parasympathetic modulation remain obscure. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of caffeine consumption and expectancy of caffeine consumption on the cardiac parasympathetic modulation under different stress conditions. Twenty-one physically active men (22.3 ± 2.9 years, 25.2 ± 2.7 kg/m2) consumed ∼3 mg/kg of caffeine received as caffeine, caffeine as placebo, placebo as placebo and placebo as caffeine. Parasympathetic modulation was assessed by heart rate variability (HRV-Poincaré SD1 index) at supine and orthostatic positions, during a submaximal exercise (HRV threshold-HRVT) and during each 60 seconds (s) within 300 s of post-exercise active recovery. A factorial ANOVA for repeated measures (p < 0.05) was used to assess the effect of caffeine, expectancy and resting time after caffeine intake on the HRV. No significant effect of caffeine or expectancy was observed on the SD1 value at supine or standing positions (p = 0.47-0.53; p = 0.57-0.31, respectively), despite an increase in this variable after resting periods in both positions (p < 0.001). During exercise, caffeine and expectancy do not alter the HRVT (p = 0.51-0.39). However, higher SD1 values were observed after caffeine administration from 60 to 300 s post-exercise recovery (p = 0.01-0.05) but not for the effects of expectancy (p = 0.19-0.94). We concluded that low doses of caffeine or expectancy do not alter the resting cardiac parasympathetic modulation or HRVT. However, caffeine, but not expectancy, increases parasympathetic reactivation after a submaximal exercise test in young men.

Impact of heart rate on reproducibility of heart rate variability analysis in the supine and standing positions in healthy men

OBJECTIVE: The reliability of heart rate variability (HRV) analysis is not yet fully understood, especially considering different body positions and the mathematical influence of heart rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of HRV in supine and standing positions, with and without mathematical adjustment of HRV by the average R-R interval (iRR). METHODS: We evaluated 37 young males (23.1±4 years; 25.1±3 kg/m2). A 5-min segment of the iRR was collected in the supine and standing positions on three occasions separated by 48-hour intervals. Absolute and relative reliability of temporal and spectral indices were assessed by the coefficient of variation (CV) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), respectively. RESULTS: We did not observe differences in HRV indices in the three occasions in the supine or standing position (p>0.05). Moderate to good reproducibility was observed for temporal and spectral indices of HRV in the supine position (ICC: 0.65-0.89; CV: 0.9-19.8). In the orthostatic position, low to good reproducibility was observed (ICC: 0.35-0.89; CV: 1.1-34.8), with higher ICCs for temporal indices. After mathematical adjustment, only a small modification in HRV reliability was observed in both positions. CONCLUSIONS: In young adult males, the mathematical adjustment of HRV by the average iRR led to a nonsignificant effect on HRV reliability. Additionally, HRV reliability is dependent on body position and the index analyzed. Promising measures in both supine and standing positions include r-MSSD and the HF band (parasympathetic indices).