Exercise effects on HRV in cancer patients.
The present study evaluated the effects of physical exercise on heart rate variability (HRV) in cancer patients. 3 matched groups of each 15 tumour patients (60.4±8.9 years, 27 male, 18 female) were recruited: Physical exercise group 1 (acute treatment), Physical exercise group 2 (post treatment) and non-intervention group (acute treatment, no exercise). Exercise group patients received counselling for exercise and participated in a Nordic-Walking program. Short-term HRV-recordings, assessments of fatigue and quality of life (QoL) were performed prior to and 16 weeks after the exercise program initiation. MANCOVA revealed group × time differences in total power frequency domain of HRV and QoL (p<0.05). TP follow-up scores [logms(2)] differed significantly between non-intervention and intervention post treatment (2.0±0.5 vs. 2.6±0.5), but not between non-intervention and intervention during acute treatment. QoL follow-up scores differed significantly between non-intervention and intervention during acute treatment (47±15 vs. 64±18) and post treatment (47±15 vs. 69±19). Exercise enhances cardiac autonomic regulation of tumour patients during and after acute treatment. Because of the association of higher HRV-parameters and prolonged survival in cancer patients, improvement in autonomic control may be an important goal of exercise.
Department of Sports Medicine, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. n iederer@sport.uni-frankfurt.de
D
D
Niederer
L
L
Vogt
C
C
Thiel
K
K
Schmidt
M
M
Bernhörster
A
A
Lungwitz
E
E
Jäger
W
W
Banzer
D000368:Aged; D003376:Counseling; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D013997:Time Factors; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology