Heart Rate Variability and Blood Pressure during Dynamic and Static Exercise at Similar Heart Rate Levels

Aim was to elucidate autonomic responses to dynamic and static (isometric) exercise of the lower limbs eliciting the same moderate heart rate (HR) response. Method: 23 males performed two kinds of voluntary exercise in a supine position at similar heart rates: static exercise (SE) of the lower limbs (static leg press) and dynamic exercise (DE) of the lower limbs (cycling). Subjective effort, systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), rate pressure product (RPP) and the time between consecutive heart beats (RR-intervals) were measured. Time-domain (SDNN, RMSSD), frequency-domain (power in the low and high frequency band (LFP, HFP)) and geometric measures (SD1, SD2) as well as non-linear measures of regularity (approximate entropy (ApEn), sample entropy (SampEn) and correlation dimension D2) were calculated. Results: Although HR was similar during both exercise conditions (88±10 bpm), subjective effort, SBP, DBP, MAP and RPP were significantly enhanced during SE. HRV indicators representing overall variability (SDNN, SD 2) and vagal modulated variability (RMSSD, HFP, SD 1) were increased. LFP, thought to be modulated by both autonomic branches, tended to be higher during SE. ApEn and SampEn were decreased whereas D₂ was enhanced during SE. It can be concluded that autonomic control processes during SE and DE were qualitatively different despite similar heart rate levels. The differences were reflected by blood pressure and HRV indices. HRV-measures indicated a stronger vagal cardiac activity during SE, while blood pressure response indicated a stronger sympathetic efferent activity to the vessels. The elevated vagal cardiac activity during SE might be a response mechanism, compensating a possible co-activation of sympathetic cardiac efferents, as HR and LF/HF was similar and LFP tended to be higher. However, this conclusion must be drawn cautiously as there is no HRV-marker reflecting “pure” sympathetic cardiac activity.     

Effects of Aerobic Exercise during Pregnancy on Neurobehavioral Performances and Serum Levels of GDNF in Adult Male Mice Offspring

Neurophysiology - Clinical evidence indicates that physical activity during pregnancy may modulate the brain development and improve the neurobehavioral functions of the offspring. Nevertheless,...     

Evaluation of Anaerobic Thresholds Based on the Heart Rate Changes Recorded during Standard Exercise Tests

A method is described for an accurate extrapolation of heart rates (HR) recorded during exercise testing to their steady-state levels attainable at every load step. The method makes it possible to study individual correlations between the HR and load power, e.g., in short-term myocardial ischemia. The load ranges over which the HR changed linearly or nonlinearly with power were found on testing 36 angina pectoris patients with transient STdepressions. The 24-hour HR minima and the threshold HR magnitudes corresponding to the aerobic thresholds of specific myocardial loci were within linear ranges, whereas the maximum attainable HR magnitudes most frequently were within nonlinear ranges. This nonlinearity is likely to be due to the onset of anaerobic processes contributing to the total energy production in the body. Hence, the point of transition to nonlinear HR changes, experimentally detectable during exercise tests with ECG monitoring, determines the anaerobic threshold.     

孕早期胎心率意义的探讨

目的:探讨监测孕早期胎心率(fetal heartrate,FHR)对胎儿生存预后的预测价值,尤其对已有流产征兆或有重复、习惯性流产史患者的胎儿不良生存结局的预测价值.方法:收集自2003到2007年至我院门诊要求生育的正常早孕孕妇以及有先兆流产征象或重复、习惯性流产病史、孕周在5-9+6周要求生育的孕妇415例.采用超声测定孕囊(gestational sac,GS)平均直径、胚胎头臀径(crown-rump length,CRL)、FHR.如果胎儿存活,则在孕中期11-14周时测量胎儿颈项皮肤层厚度(nuchal translucency,NT).采用X检验分析孕早期胎心率与胎儿存活率及NT值的关系.结果:胎心率低时,胎儿存活率降低(P<0.05),NT值异常升高发生率增多(P<0.05).结论:孕早期胎心率测定对预测胎儿生存预后有一定的临床意义,并且胎心率减慢还与孕中期NT值异常升高相关,因此,孕早期胎心率可作为筛查和预测中晚期妊娠胎儿畸形的重点监测对象.     

有氧运动与干细胞动员的缺血心脏血管新生研究进展

有氧运动具有明确的血管新生效应,包括缺血心脏,但其机制尚未完全阐明。心肌梗死(MI)后冠脉微血管新生是心脏修复的前提。新近研究表明,血管新生来源于体内干/祖细胞的动员与参与,并以旁分泌效应影响内皮细胞(EC)功能及微血管分布效果,运动可以动员、激活内源性干细胞因子和血管生成因子的表达与分泌,并能从表观遗传学角度影响心脏血管新生。探索不同运动方式及强度对缺血心脏血管新生的作用及其分子机制,对缺血心脏的预防及术后康复具有重要意义。本文从心脏血管新生及其调控机制、自体干细胞动员参与缺血心脏的血管新生和运动通过干细胞动员促进缺血心脏血管新生等方面综述运动促进缺血心脏血管新生的主要机制、存在问题及相关研究进展。     

Diurnal Variation in Heart Rate Variability before and after Maximal Exercise Testing

As heart-rate variability (HRV) is under evaluation in clinical applications, the authors sought to better define the interdependent impact of age, maximal exercise, and diurnal variation under physiologic conditions. The authors evaluated the diurnal changes in HRV 24-h pre- and post-maximal aerobic exercise testing to exhaustion in young (19–25 yrs, n?=?12) and middle-aged (40–55 yrs, n?=?12) adults. Subjects wore a portable 5-lead electrocardiogram holter for 48?h (24?h prior to and following a maximal aerobic capacity test). Time-, frequency-, time-frequency-, and scale-invariant-domain measures of HRV were computed from RR-interval data analyzed using a 5-min window size and a 2.5-min step size, resulting in a different set of outputs every 2.5?min. Results were averaged (mean?±?SE) over four prespecified time periods during the morning, afternoon, evening, and night on Day 1 and Day 2. Diurnal changes in HRV in young and middle-aged adults were compared using a two-way, repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Young adults demonstrated higher HRV compared to middle-aged adults during periods of wakefulness and sleep prior to maximal exercise stress testing (i.e., high-frequency power during Day 1: young adults: morning 1862?±?496?ms², afternoon 1797?±?384?ms², evening 1908?±?431?ms², and night 3202?±?728?ms²; middle-aged adults: morning 341?±?53?ms², afternoon 405?±?68?ms², evening 469?±?80?ms², and night 836?±?136?ms²) (p < .05). Exercise resulted in reductions in HRV such that multiple measures of HRV were not significantly different between age groups during the afternoon and evening periods. All measures of HRV demonstrated between-group differences overnight on Day 2 (p < .05). Young adults are associated with higher baseline HRV during the daytime. Sleep increases variability equally and proportionally to daytime variability. Given the higher baseline awake HRV and equal rise in HRV during sleep, the change in HRV from sleep to morning with exercise is greater in younger subjects. These physiologic results have clinical significance in understanding the pathophysiology of altered variability in ill patients. (Author correspondence: aseely@ohri.ca)     

Effects of Moderate Aerobic Exercise Training on Hemorheological and Laboratory Parameters in Ischemic Heart Disease Patients

Background and Design

In this study we set out to determine the effects of long-term physical training on hemorheological, laboratory parameters, exercise tolerability, psychological factors in cardiac patients participating in an ambulatory rehabilitation program.

Methods

Before physical training, patients were examined by echocardiography, tested on treadmill by the Bruce protocol, and blood was drawn for laboratory tests. The enrolled 79 ischemic heart disease patients joined a 24-week cardiac rehabilitation training program. Blood was drawn to measure hematocrit (Hct), plasma and whole blood viscosity (PV, WBV), red blood cell (RBC) aggregation and deformability. Hemorheological, clinical chemistry and psychological measurements were repeated 12 and 24 weeks later, and a treadmill test was performed at the end of the program.

Results

After 12 weeks Hct, PV, WBV and RBC aggregation were significantly decreased, RBC deformability exhibited a significant increase (p<0.05). Laboratory parameters (triglyceride, uric acid, hsCRP and fibrinogen) were significantly decreased (p<0.05). After 24 weeks the significant results were still observed. By the end of the study, IL-6 and TNF-α levels displayed decreasing trends (p<0.06). There was a significant improvement in MET (p<0.001), and the BMI decrease was also significant (p<0.05). The vital exhaustion parameters measured on the fatigue impact scale indicated a significant improvement in two areas of the daily activities (p<0.05).

Conclusions

Regular physical training improved the exercise tolerability of patients with ischemic heart disease. Previous publications have demonstrated that decreases in Hct and PV may reduce cardiovascular risk, while a decrease in RBC aggregation and an increase in deformability improve the capillary flow. Positive changes in laboratory parameters and body weight may indicate better oxidative and inflammatory circumstances and an improved metabolic state. The psychological findings point to an improvement in the quality of life.     

Evaluation of an Exercise Field Test Using Heart Rate Monitors to Assess Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Heart Rate Recovery in an Asymptomatic Population

Purpose

Measures of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and heart rate recovery (HRR) can improve risk stratification for cardiovascular disease, but these measurements are rarely made in asymptomatic individuals due to cost. An exercise field test (EFT) to assess CRF and HRR would be an inexpensive method for cardiovascular disease risk assessment in large populations. This study assessed 1) the predictive accuracy of a 12-minute run/walk EFT for estimating CRF () and 2) the accuracy of HRR measured after an EFT using a heart rate monitor (HRM) in an asymptomatic population.

Methods

Fifty subjects (48% women) ages 18–45 years completed a symptom-limited exercise tolerance test (ETT) (Bruce protocol) and an EFT on separate days. During the ETT, was measured by a metabolic cart, and heart rate was measured continuously by a HRM and a metabolic cart.

Results

EFT distance and sex independently predicted. The average absolute difference between observed and predicted was 0.26±3.27 ml·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹ for our model compared to 7.55±3.64 ml·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹ for the Cooper model. HRM HRR data were equivalent to respective metabolic cart values during the ETT. HRR at 1 minute post-exercise during ETT compared to the EFT had a moderate correlation (r = 0.75, p<0.001).

Conclusion

A more accurate model to estimate CRF from a 12-minute run/walk EFT was developed, and HRR can be measured using a HRM in an asymptomatic population outside of clinical settings.     

Effect of Aerobic Training on Heart Rate Recovery in Patients with Established Heart Disease; a Systematic Review

Background

Although a delayed decrease in heart rate during the first minute after graded exercise has been identified as a powerful predictor of overall mortality in cardiac patients, the potential to influence this risk factor by aerobic training remains to be proven.

Objective

The aim was to study the relationship between aerobic training and Heart Rate Recovery (HRR) in patients with established heart disease.

Methods

(Quasi) randomized clinical trials on aerobic exercise training in adults with established heart disease were identified through electronic database and reference screening. Two reviewers extracted data and assessed the risk of bias and therapeutic validity. Methodological validity was evaluated using an adapted version of the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias and the therapeutic validity of the interventions was assessed with a nine-itemed, expert-based rating scale (CONTENT). Scores range from 0 to 9 (score ≥ 6 reflecting therapeutic validity).

Results

Of the 384 articles retrieved, 8 studies (449 patients) were included. Three of the included studies demonstrated adequate therapeutic validity and five demonstrated low risk of bias. Two studies showed both adequate therapeutic validity and a low risk of bias. For cardiac patients aerobic exercise training was associated with more improvement in HRR compared to usual care.

Conclusion

The present systematic review shows a level 1A evidence that aerobic training increases HRR in patients with established heart disease.     

Effects of Biofeedback Training on Voluntary Heart Rate Control During Dynamic Exercise

The aims of this study were to (1) compare the effect of biofeedback with that of verbal instructions on the control of heart rate during exercise on a treadmill, (2) test the possible effect of workload on this control, and (3) examine the effect of workload on baseline heart rate at rest and during exercise. The study involved 35 participants who were randomly assigned to each of 4 experimental conditions generated by combining the 2 independent variables: training strategy for heart rate control (heart rate biofeedback or verbal control instructions) and work level (30 or 50% of maximal heart rate). By the end of 5 experimental sessions, participants trained with heart rate biofeedback showed a greater attenuation of the increase in heart rate produced by exercise than participants trained with verbal control instructions. The workload did not influence the voluntary control of heart rate, nor did it affect resting baseline heart rate, but it did affect exercise baseline heart rate.     

Online Detection of Fetal Acidemia during Labour by Testing Synchronization of EEG and Heart Rate: A Prospective Study in Fetal Sheep

Severe fetal acidemia during labour can result in life-lasting neurological deficits, but the timely detection of this condition is often not possible. This is because the positive predictive value (PPV) of fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring, the mainstay of fetal health surveillance during labour, to detect concerning fetal acidemia is around 50%. In fetal sheep model of human labour, we reported that severe fetal acidemia (pH<7.00) during repetitive umbilical cord occlusions (UCOs) is preceded ∼60 minutes by the synchronization of electroencephalogram (EEG) and FHR. However, EEG and FHR are cyclic and noisy, and although the synchronization might be visually evident, it is challenging to detect automatically, a necessary condition for bedside utility. Here we present and validate a novel non-parametric statistical method to detect fetal acidemia during labour by using EEG and FHR. The underlying algorithm handles non-stationary and noisy data by recording number of abnormal episodes in both EEG and FHR. A logistic regression is then deployed to test whether these episodes are significantly related to each other. We then apply the method in a prospective study of human labour using fetal sheep model (n = 20). Our results render a PPV of 68% for detecting impending severe fetal acidemia ∼60 min prior to pH drop to less than 7.00 with 100% negative predictive value. We conclude that this method has a great potential to improve PPV for detection of fetal acidemia when it is implemented at the bedside. We outline directions for further refinement of the algorithm that will be achieved by analyzing larger data sets acquired in prospective human pilot studies.     

Aerobic Exercise Training Prevents Heart Failure-Induced Skeletal Muscle Atrophy by Anti-Catabolic,but Not Anabolic Actions

Background

Heart failure (HF) is associated with cachexia and consequent exercise intolerance. Given the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise training (ET) in HF, the aim of this study was to determine if the ET performed during the transition from cardiac dysfunction to HF would alter the expression of anabolic and catabolic factors, thus preventing skeletal muscle wasting.

Methods and Results

We employed ascending aortic stenosis (AS) inducing HF in Wistar male rats. Controls were sham-operated animals. At 18 weeks after surgery, rats with cardiac dysfunction were randomized to 10 weeks of aerobic ET (AS-ET) or to an untrained group (AS-UN). At 28 weeks, the AS-UN group presented HF signs in conjunction with high TNF-α serum levels; soleus and plantaris muscle atrophy; and an increase in the expression of TNF-α, NFκB (p65), MAFbx, MuRF1, FoxO1, and myostatin catabolic factors. However, in the AS-ET group, the deterioration of cardiac function was prevented, as well as muscle wasting, and the atrophy promoters were decreased. Interestingly, changes in anabolic factor expression (IGF-I, AKT, and mTOR) were not observed. Nevertheless, in the plantaris muscle, ET maintained high PGC1α levels.

Conclusions

Thus, the ET capability to attenuate cardiac function during the transition from cardiac dysfunction to HF was accompanied by a prevention of skeletal muscle atrophy that did not occur via an increase in anabolic factors, but through anti-catabolic activity, presumably caused by PGC1α action. These findings indicate the therapeutic potential of aerobic ET to block HF-induced muscle atrophy by counteracting the increased catabolic state.     

Heart Rate Variability during Performance of Various Resultive Tasks

Heart rate variability was studied in 30 subjects before and after the assembling of a single-type color mosaic. The heart rate analysis was performed by evaluating its statistical structure (variation curves, scatter plots, and standard deviation). The wave structure of a series of cardiointervals was assessed by calculating and plotting the autocorrelation function. Certain heart rate parameters in different subjects reflected to various extents their success in achieving the useful end result of the visuomotor design task.     

The Heart and Physical Exercise

Cardiac hypertrophy and extreme bradycardia occur in the highly trained endurance athlete, but not in those with lesser degrees of training. Several longevity studies in athletes fail to show any beneficial effects of athletic training confined to the college years. The invaluable British studies relating physical activity of various occupations to coronary disease show that while exercise does not prevent coronary atherosclerosis, it may reduce the incidence of large and fatal infarctions and of complete coronary obstructions. Various American studies have not confirmed this beneficial effect of exercise. To be of any value in the prevention of coronary disease, exercise must be continued on into middle age. The sedentary life characteristic of western civilization is probably not a major factor in the high incidence of coronary disease.     

Personality,Metabolic Rate and Aerobic Capacity

Personality traits and cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults are reliable predictors of health and longevity. We examined the association between personality traits and energy expenditure at rest (basal metabolic rate) and during normal and maximal sustained walking. Personality traits and oxygen (VO₂) consumption were assessed in 642 participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Results indicate that personality traits were mostly unrelated to resting metabolic rate and energy expenditure at normal walking pace. However, those who scored lower on neuroticism (r =  −0.12) and higher on extraversion (r = 0.11), openness (r = 0.13), and conscientiousness (r = 0.09) had significantly higher energy expenditure at peak walking pace. In addition to greater aerobic capacity, individuals with a more resilient personality profile walked faster and were more efficient in that they required less energy per meter walked. The associations between personality and energy expenditure were not moderated by age or sex, but were in part explained by the proportion of fat mass. In conclusion, differences in personality may matter the most during more challenging activities that require cardiorespiratory fitness. These findings suggest potential pathways that link personality to health outcomes, such as obesity and longevity.     

Diauxic Growth of Fusarium oxysporum during Aerobic Culture in the Presence of Nitrate/Nitrite

Styrene oxide isomerase (SOI) [EC 5.3.99.7], most probably located in the cell wall, was partially purified from Coiynebacterium sp. AC-5 cells grown in a styrene gas atmospheres. The enzyme catalyzed the isomerization reaction to give phenylacetaldehyde, but did not catalyze its reverse reaction. The optimum pH of the reaction was around 7.0, and the enzyme was unstable below pH 6.0. The K_m toward styrene oxide was very low (7.7 × 10^?5 m), indicating its high affinity for styrene oxide. The enzyme showed strict substrate specificity, and epoxide compounds other than styrene oxide did not serve as substrates. (S)-Styrene oxide was preferentially converted by the enzyme, compared with the (R)-isomer. The possible application of SOI as a biocatalyst is also discussed.     

Nonstationary Heart Rate Variability during the Head-Down Tilt Test

Biophysics - Abstract—A new method has been proposed for processing the nonstationary rhythmogram signal recorded in the head-down tilt test (HDT). The method is based on the continuous...