title: Quantitative Poincaré plot analysis of heart rate variability: effect of endurance training.
abstract: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Poincaré plot analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) in observing endurance training-induced changes. Four 10-min manoeuvres were performed (supine lying, standing, steady state exercising and subsequent recovery) by eight control subjects before and after a short-term endurance training and by eight subjects trained for at least 3 years. HRV was assessed by traditional time- and frequency-domain indexes, in parallel with the Poincaré plot analysis. In the latter each R-R interval is plotted as a function of the previous one, and the standard deviations of the instantaneous and long-term R-R interval variability are calculated. In our subjects, the Poincaré scatter grams became gradually narrower from supine to exercising, with progressive parasympathetic withdrawal. Short- and long-term endurance training led to higher aerobic power ( p<0.05) and ventilatory threshold shifted towards higher power output ( p<0.05). All HRV evaluation methods showed that HRV values were higher after training both during supine lying and standing ( p<0.05). The Poincaré scatter grams were wider in the trained state. Standard deviations of the Poincaré plot were significantly correlated with the main parameters of the time- and frequency-domain analyses, especially concerning the parasympathetic indicators. These results suggested that Poincaré plot parameters as well as the "width" of the scatter gram could be considered as surrogates of time- and frequency-domain analysis to assess training-induced changes in HRV.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie Médecine, Faculté de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Place St Jacques, 25030, Besançon cedex, France. mourotlaurent@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mourot
authors.forename: Malika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bouhaddi
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perrey
authors.forename: Jean-Denis
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Rouillon
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Regnard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology*; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D016683:Supine Position / Q000502:physiology