Heart rate recovery in elite athletes: the impact of age and exercise capacity

Abstract

There is compelling evidence that postexercise heart rate recovery (HRR) is a valid indicator of sympaticovagal balance. It is also used in prescription and monitoring of athletic training. The purpose of our study was to determine HRR after maximal exercise among elite athletes with respect to age. A total of 274 elite male Caucasian athletes were randomly selected from the larger sample and divided into two groups: adolescent (group Y) and adult athletes (≥18 years; group A). They performed maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing on a treadmill. Heart rate recovery was calculated as the rate of decline of HR from peak exercise to rates 1, 2 and 3 min after cessation of exercise (HRR1, HRR2 and HRR3). A significantly higher HRR1 was found in group A (29·5 ± 15·6 versus 22·4 ± 10·8, P<0·001), but HRR3 was higher in group Y (82·7 ± 10·2 versus 79·9 ± 12·25; P = 0·04). Stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis showed that, among all subjects, the HRR1 alone was independently associated with age (P<0·001). The maximal oxygen consumption (VO max) was in a negative relationship with HRR1 and in a positive one with HRR3 (P<0·05) with respect to all athletes. The HRR during 3 min postexercise should be reported for the purpose of better assessing functional adaptation to exercise among elite athletes as well as the age-associated differences in recovery. Higher values of HRR1 should be expected in older athletes, and HRR3 could be used as an index of aerobic capacity, irrespective of age.

Variations in important aerobic fitness parameters and physical characteristics during two consecutive preseason periods in adolescent soccer players

“…Post-exercise Hr recovery is a relatively new index proposed as a low cost and time-consuming alternative to blood lactate concentration measurement for aerobic fitness evaluation [38]. According to Suzic et al [39], VO 2 max is inversely related with 1-minute post-exercise Hr values in both adolescent and adult elite athletes, while it is known that faster recovery is generally associated with enhanced sports performance.…”

Heart rate recovery: Short review of methodology

“…The use of a treadmill is most preferred ergometer for cardiopulmonary exercise test, followed by the use of an ergo-bicycle and step-benches (1)(2)(3)8). All of the subjects have reached higher values of maximal oxygen consumption (VO 2 max), when treadmill was used as ergometer in comparison to the use of ergo-bicycle, which also led to the significant difference in HRR values (9).…”

“…The estimated value of HRR is also determined by the level of physical activity used in the study Criteria, for the completion of the test: a plateau in VO 2 max despite the increased exercise intensity; respiratory exchange ratio value (RER max) ≥ 1.10; heart rate within 10 beats of the age predicted maximum (220 -age) or volitional fatigue (3). The use of submaximal cardiopulmonary exercise test (for example, the cardiopulmonary exercise test ends, when the 80% of predicted maximal heart rate is reached) requires a different set of standards for the value of HRR, since the value of the heart rate at which testing ends, depends on the age of subjects (4).…”

“…Subjects that preformed active recovery protocol have demonstrated lower HRR values in comparison to the subjects that had the immediate rest state after the maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test. A position that subjects occupy during the recovery period also affects the value of the HRR, with the faster recovery in the supine position (3,8,12).…”

“…The rapid recovery of the heart rate, interpreted through the high HRR value, indicates the high parasympathetic (PSY) tone, which represents a common finding in the population of elite athletes (1)(2)(3). Many studies have demonstrated that the drop in heart rate in the first minute of recovery (ΔHRR1) represents a good indicator of PSY reactivation (1,4,5).…”