Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated the effects of acute hypoxic exposure on post-exercise cardiac autonomic modulation following maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).
Methods
Thirteen healthy men performed CPET and recovery in normoxia (N) and normobaric hypoxia (H) (FiO2 = 13.4%, ≈ 3500 m). Post-exercise cardiac autonomic modulation was assessed during recovery (300 s) through the analysis of fast-phase and slow-phase heart rate recovery (HRR) and heart rate variability (HRV) indices.
Results
Both short-term, T30 (mean difference (MD) 60.0 s, 95% CI 18.2–101.8, p = 0.009, ES 1.01), and long-term, HRRt (MD 21.7 s, 95% CI 4.1–39.3, p = 0.020, ES 0.64), time constants of HRR were higher in H. Fast-phase (30 and 60 s) and slow-phase (300 s) HRR indices were reduced in H either when expressed in bpm or in percentage of HRpeak (p < 0.05). Chronotropic reserve recovery was lower in H than in N at 30 s (MD − 3.77%, 95% CI − 7.06 to − 0.49, p = 0.028, ES − 0.80) and at 60 s (MD − 7.23%, 95% CI − 11.45 to − 3.01, p = 0.003, ES − 0.81), but not at 300 s (p = 0.436). Concurrently, Ln-RMSSD was reduced in H at 60 and 90 s (p < 0.01) but not at other time points during recovery (p > 0.05).
Conclusions
Affected fast-phase, slow-phase HRR and HRV indices suggested delayed parasympathetic reactivation and sympathetic withdrawal after maximal exercise in hypoxia. However, a similar cardiac autonomic recovery was re-established within 5 min after exercise cessation. These findings have several implications in cardiac autonomic recovery interpretation and in HR assessment in response to high-intensity hypoxic exercise.
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Abbreviations
- ANOVA:
-
Analysis of variance
- ANS:
-
Autonomic nervous system
- CPET:
-
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing
- CRR:
-
Chronotropic reserve recovery
- EPOCt:
-
Excess of post-exercise oxygen consumption time constant
- EPOCMAG :
-
Excess of post-exercise oxygen consumption magnitude
- LF:
-
Low-frequency spectral power
- Ln:
-
Natural logarithm transformation
- HF:
-
High-frequency spectral power
- HR:
-
Heart rate
- HRR:
-
Heart rate recovery
- HRRt:
-
Long-term time constant of heart rate recovery
- HRV:
-
Heart rate variability
- RMSSD:
-
Root mean square of successive differences of R–R intervals
- T30:
-
Short-term time constant of heart rate recovery
- TP:
-
Total spectral power
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the subjects for their time and enthusiasm. The research was supported by the Ministry for Higher education, Research Innovation (France) and Tomsk Polytechnic University Competitiveness Enhancement Program Grant (Project No. ВИУ-ИСГТ-108/2017 - TPU CEP-HSTI-108/2017).
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AF, AS, SS, LB, LM and BP participated in study conception and design. AF, AS and SS participated in data acquisition. AF, FSt, GB and AZ participated in data analysis. AF and LM were responsible for data interpretation. AF, AS, SS, GB, AZ, LM and BP contributed to the draft of the paper. AF, AS, SS, GB, AZ, FSc, LM and BP critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Communicated by I. Mark Olfert.
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Fornasiero, A., Savoldelli, A., Skafidas, S. et al. Delayed parasympathetic reactivation and sympathetic withdrawal following maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in hypoxia. Eur J Appl Physiol 118, 2189–2201 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3945-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3945-5