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Relation of heart rate recovery to heart rate variability in persons with paraplegia

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Abstract

Purpose

Heart rate recovery (HRR) after treadmill exercise testing is an index of cardiac autonomic activity in non-disabled persons, but it is unknown if this is also the case in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). We investigated the relationship between HRR after maximal arm exercise testing and resting autonomic activity in persons with paraplegia.

Methods

A total of 17 (male n = 9, female n = 8) active individuals with paraplegia (injury below T6) were included in the study. Frequency domain analyses of resting heart rate variability were obtained and participants completed a maximal arm exercise test. HRR was calculated as the difference between peak heart rate during the test and heart rate 1 min (HRR1) and 2 (HRR2) min after cessation of exercise.

Results

HRR 1 and HRR 2 were statistically significantly correlated with high-frequency (HF) power (r = 0.46, p < 0.05 and r = 0.47, p < 0.05) and the LF/HF ratio (r = −0.49, p < 0.05 and r = −0.50, p < 0.05). After adjusting for age, peak heart rate and peak oxygen uptake, HRR 2 was still significantly associated with HF power (r = 0.50, p < 0.05) and the LF/HF ratio (r = −0.58, p < 0.05).

Conclusions

These findings indicate that HRR after maximal arm exercise testing is associated with resting cardiac autonomic activity in persons with paraplegia. This would suggest that HRR after maximal arm exercise testing can be used as an index of autonomic function in this population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Health and Integrative Physiology Laboratory, Department of Sports Informatics, University of Seoul, Siripdae-gil 13, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 130-743, South Korea

    Sae Young Jae

  2. Division of Cardiology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Kevin S. Heffernan

  3. College of Physical Education and Sports Science, Kookmin University, Seoul, South Korea

    Miyoung Lee

  4. Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA

    Bo Fernhall

Authors
  1. Sae Young Jae
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  2. Kevin S. Heffernan
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  3. Miyoung Lee
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  4. Bo Fernhall
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Correspondence to Sae Young Jae.

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Jae, S.Y., Heffernan, K.S., Lee, M. et al. Relation of heart rate recovery to heart rate variability in persons with paraplegia. Clin Auton Res 21, 111–116 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-010-0096-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-010-0096-0

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