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Post-exercise heart-rate recovery correlates to resting heart-rate variability in healthy men

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Abstract

Justificative

The relationship between post-exercise heart-rate recovery (HRR) and resting cardiac autonomic modulation is an incompletely explored issue.

Objective

To correlate HRR with resting supine and orthostatic autonomic status.

Method

HRR at the 1st, 3th, and 5th min following maximal treadmill exercise were correlated with 5-min time-domain (CV, pNN50 and rMSSD) and frequency-domain (TP, LF, HF, LFn, HFn, and LF/HF ratio) indices of heart-rate variability (HRV) in both supine and standing positions in 31 healthy physically active non-athletes men. Statistical analysis employed non-parametric tests with two-tailed p value set at 5 %.

Results

Absolute HRR and Δ %HRR at each post-exercise time did not correlated with HRV in supine position, as well as at 1st min in standing position. At the 3rd min and 5th min, these measures negatively correlated with pNN50, rMSSD, TP, and HF indices, and only in the 5th min, they showed negative correlation with HFn and positive correlation with LF, LFn, and LF/HF ratio in the standing position. Coefficient of HRR (CHRR) at the 1st min negatively correlated with pNN50 and rMSSD and at 3rd and 5th min showed positive correlation with LFn and LF/HF ratio in supine position. With HRV indices in standing position CHRR from the 1st to 5th min showed the same respective negative and positive correlations as the other measures.

Conclusion

HRR from the 1st to 5th min post-exercise negatively correlated with parasympathetic modulation in resting orthostatic, but showed no correlation in supine position. At the 3rd and 5th min, a positive correlation with combined sympathetic-parasympathetic modulation in both positions was observed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Miss Lúcia Kobayashi from the Exercise Physiology Laboratory of the Faculty of Health Education and Mr. Ronaldo de Andrade Rocha (in memoriam) from the Cardiovascular Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine, both at the University of Brasilia, by their valuable technical assistance provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiovascular Laboratory, Clinical Medicine Area, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, DF, Brazil

    Guilherme Eckhardt Molina, Luiz Guilherme Grossi Porto & Luiz Fernando Junqueira Jr.

  2. Medical Sciences Postgraduate Course, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, DF, Brazil

    Guilherme Eckhardt Molina & Luiz Fernando Junqueira Jr.

  3. Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Faculty of Physical Education, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, DF, Brazil

    Guilherme Eckhardt Molina, Keila Elizabeth Fontana & Luiz Guilherme Grossi Porto

  4. Scholarship from the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development—CNPq, Brasilia, Brazil

    Luiz Guilherme Grossi Porto

Authors
  1. Guilherme Eckhardt Molina
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  2. Keila Elizabeth Fontana
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  3. Luiz Guilherme Grossi Porto
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  4. Luiz Fernando Junqueira Jr.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guilherme Eckhardt Molina.

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The authors declare no financial or others conflicts of interest.

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Molina, G.E., Fontana, K.E., Porto, L.G.G. et al. Post-exercise heart-rate recovery correlates to resting heart-rate variability in healthy men. Clin Auton Res 26, 415–421 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-016-0378-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-016-0378-2

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