Modulation of cardiac autonomic activity during and immediately after exercise

Abstract

Fluctuations in heart rate above 0.03 Hz reflect autonomic modulation of sinoatrial node activity. To assess the dynamics of autonomic nervous activity during and immediately after exercise, we determined the power spectrum of heart rate and respiratory fluctuations in 43 normal subjects without known cardiac disease, 8 patients with severe congestive heart failure, and 6 patients status-post cardiac transplantation before, during, and after graded-work load exercise on a cycle ergometer. Before exercise, heart rate fluctuations (spectral power) at both high (0.15-0.80 Hz) and low (0.03-0.15 Hz) frequencies were significantly higher in normal subjects than in either heart failure or transplant patients but were not different between the two groups with heart disease. During exercise, heart rate power at all frequencies rapidly and progressively decreased in normal subjects, until at peak exercise it was not different from the other two groups. During recovery, heart rate power increased in normal subjects but remained significantly below base line. The findings demonstrate a marked reduction of autonomic modulation of heart rate in patients with heart failure and after cardiac transplant and support a progressive withdrawal of vagal activity during exercise with a gradual increase during recovery in normal subjects.

Heart rate recovery, cardiac rehabilitation and erectile dysfunction in males with ischaemic heart disease

“…Erectile dysfunction intensity (EQ) and heart rate recovery (HRR) before (1) and after (2) cardiac rehabilitation in the study (E) and control (C) groups…”

“…(1) Cycle ergometer training: the load on cycle ergometers was increased at 4-min intervals until halfway through the training, when the patients achieved their peak; the load was then declined to the initial values, interrupted by 2-min recovery periods, with a maintained load of 0–5 W. Training began with a 2-min-long warm-up and finished with a 3-min-long rest phase (no load). (2) General and resistance training: the training consisted of relaxation, stretching, balance and skill exercises performed in groups.…”

“…Heart rate recovery (HRR) after a treadmill stress test occurs due to the gradual deactivation of the sympathetic nervous system and the reactivation of the parasympathetic nervous system. Therefore, most problems with HRR are likely the result of both vagus nerve dysfunction and sympathetic hyperactivity (1, 2). A single parameter, HRR, measured as the difference between the peak heart rate and the heart rate measured after 60 s in the recovery phase of the stress test, shows the dynamics of this process.…”

“…Treating IHD requires multiple stages, one of which is cardiac rehabilitation. Physical training, a core component of cardiac rehabilitation programmes, leads to an improvement in HRR due to its sympatholytic and parasympathicotonic activity and has a proven beneficial effect on erection quality (EQ) related to the activity of the autonomic nervous system in men with IHD (1, 3, 10). Given the common denominator, i.e.…”

“…Given the common denominator, i.e. the tone of the autonomic nervous system, the relationship between HRR and EQ in patients with IHD and ED who have undergone cardiac rehabilitation is interesting (1, 9, 11), yet there are no available sources on this subject. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between HRR and the severity of ED in patients with IHD and ED who have undergone cardiac rehabilitation.…”