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Heart Rate Variability from Underwater Spiroergometry: How Meaningful?

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Abstract

Cardiovascular fitness of divers is overwhelmingly performed using bicycle ergometry. A more sport-specific alternative presents fit2dive, an underwater spiroergometry system. Purpose of this exploratory study: using fit2dive to investigate the diagnostic value of measures of heart rate variability (HRV) after markedly increasing physical load. Ten scuba divers employed the fit2dive system and increased fin-swimming speed until exhaustion. Breathing gas consumption (V̇E) and heart rate (HR) were measured. A three-lead ECG was recorded to analyze for time and frequency domain HRV-measures. V̇E increased from 16.5 ± 6.5 to 68.3 ± 26.6 L/min. HR increased from 96 ± 13 beats/min (mean ± SD) at rest to 170 ± 14 beats/min before exhaustion. Global variability (SDNN: 132 ± 42 vs. 54 ± 17 ms) decreased along with two measures of parasympathetic activity (RMSSD: 59 ± 31 vs. 24 ± 16 ms; pNN50: 22% ± 12% vs. 3% ± 3%). Measures from the frequency domain decreased [low frequency (LF): 3167 ± 2651 vs. 778 ± 705 ms2] or remained unaltered [high frequency (HF): 885 ± 652 vs. 431 ± 463 ms2]. Thus, LF/HF decreased from 4.3 ± 2.3 to 2.5 ± 1.4. The sports-specific fit2dive can help assessing diving fitness by employing HRV measures. However, this study supports the view that these measures much depend on HR. Thus, HRV measures regarding altered autonomic control during exercise will lead to serious misinterpretation: as HR increases, variability decreases.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the enthusiastic participation of the divers on this study.

Funding

There has been funding for the study from GTÜM (German Society for Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine, Mainz).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. German Naval Medical Institute, Maritime Medicine, Kronshagen, Germany

    Andreas Koch

  2. Department of Exercise Physiology, Institute of Exercise Training and Sport Informatics, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Fabian Möller, Elena Jacobi & Uwe Hoffmann

  3. Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Thomas Muth

  4. Department of Neurology, Johanna Etienne Hospital, Neuss, Germany

    Clark Pepper

  5. Forschungsgruppe Experimentelle Chirurgie, Universitäts-Klinikum Düsseldorf, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Jochen D. Schipke

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  1. Andreas Koch
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Correspondence to Jochen D. Schipke.

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None of the authors has to disclose any conflict of interest/competing interests.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the ethics committee of the German Sport University Cologne, following the declaration of Helsinki.

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The divers were informed about the purpose and design of the study and had given written informed consent before participation.

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Not applicable; no data from patients are shown, and the stored data are anonymous and cannot be used to identify individual divers.

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Koch, A., Möller, F., Jacobi, E. et al. Heart Rate Variability from Underwater Spiroergometry: How Meaningful?. J. of SCI. IN SPORT AND EXERCISE 5, 116–122 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42978-021-00153-x

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