Relationship between arterial stiffness and heart rate recovery in apparently healthy adults.
BACKGROUND
Arterial stiffness and heart rate recovery (HRR) following exercise testing have emerged as variables holding significant prognostic value in a number of populations. The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between arterial stiffness and HRR in a group of apparently healthy subjects.


METHODS
Two hundred and nine apparently healthy subjects underwent maximal exercise testing. Heart rate at one and two minutes post exercise was subtracted from maximal heart rate during the exercise test to produce two measures of heart rate recovery. Aortic wave velocity, in meters per second, was obtained via a new magnetic resonance technique.


RESULTS
Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between aortic wave velocity and heart rate recovery. Stepwise linear regression analysis revealed that age, maximal aerobic capacity, heart rate recovery at one minute, and diastolic blood pressure were all significant predictors of aortic wave velocity (r = 0.63, r2 = 0.40, p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The results of the present study indicate that heart rate recovery is significantly correlated with a measure of large artery stiffness and adds predictive value to other clinical variables. This analysis provides further evidence that assessment of heart rate recovery should be considered in subjects undergoing exercise testing in clinical practice.
Fei
Ding-Yu
DY
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0224, USA.
Arena
Ross
R
Arrowood
James A
JA
Kraft
Kenneth A
KA
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000502:physiology*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D004548:Elasticity; D004562:Electrocardiography; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014768:Virginia