European journal of applied physiology
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Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. · Aug 2016
Aortic augmentation index in endurance athletes: a role for cardiorespiratory fitness.
Endurance exercise improves cardiovascular health and reduces mortality risk. Augmentation index (AIx) reflects adverse loading exerted on the heart and large arteries and predicts future cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to establish whether endurance athletes possess lower AIx and aortic blood pressure compared to healthy controls, and to determine the association between AIx and cardiorespiratory fitness. ⋯ The lower AIx@75 in endurance athletes is partly mediated by [Formula: see text]. While an inverse relationship between AIx@75 and [Formula: see text] was found in men, women with the highest [Formula: see text] possessed lowest AIx@75 compared to females with moderate or poor cardiorespiratory fitness. We recommend aerobic training aimed at achieving a minimum [Formula: see text] of 45 ml kg(-1) min(-1) to decrease the risk of future cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality.
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Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. · Aug 2016
Comparative StudyHeart rate variability (HRV) in deep breathing tests and 5-min short-term recordings: agreement of ear photoplethysmography with ECG measurements, in 343 subjects.
We analyzed heart rate variability (HRV) taken by ECG and photoplethysmography (PPG) to assess their agreement. We also analyzed the sensitivity and specificity of PPG to identify subjects with low HRV as an example of its potential use for clinical applications. ⋯ HRV measured by PPG shows good agreement with ECG HRV when appropriate parameters are used, and PPG-based devices can be employed as an easy screening tool to detect individuals with poor HRV, especially in the 1-min DBT test.