title: Learned control of heart rate during exercise in patients with borderline hypertension.
abstract: Twelve patients with borderline hypertension [less than or equal to 21 X 33/12.6, greater than or equal to 18 X 6/12.0 kPa (less than or equal to 160/95; greater than or equal to 140/90 mm Hg)] participated in an experiment aimed at testing whether they could learn to attenuate heart rate while exercising on a cycle ergometer. Six experimental (E) subjects received beat-to-beat heart-rate feedback and were asked to slow heart rate while exercising; six control (C) subjects received no feedback. Averaged over 5 days (25 training trials) the exercise heart-rate of the E group was 97.8 bt min-1, whereas the C group averaged 107 bt min-1 (P = 0.03). Systolic blood pressure was unaffected by feedback training. Generally, changes in rate-pressure product reflected changes in heart-rate. Oxygen consumption was lower in the E than in the C group late in training. We conclude that neurally mediated changes associated with exercise in patients with borderline hypertension can be brought under behavioral control through feedback training.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002319:Cardiovascular System / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D005082:Physical Exertion; D013997:Time Factors