Key result
Sympathetic nervous system activity stimulation via isometric handgrip significantly increased short-term heart rate and decreased time-domain HRV parameters compared to baseline.
Why the study?
Monitoring cardiac autonomic activity markers during stressful situations may help identify athlete physiological status, but group and individual short-term and ultra-short-term responses to sympathetic stimulation required evaluation in professional endurance athletes.
Does sympathetic nervous system activity stimulation via isometric handgrip alter short-term and ultra-short-term HR, RespRate, and HRV parameters in elite modern pentathlonists?
Observational (n=12)
Does sympathetic nervous system activity stimulation via isometric handgrip alter short-term and ultra-short-term HR, RespRate, and HRV parameters in elite modern pentathlonists?
Sympathetic stimulation via isometric handgrip significantly increases short-term HR and decreases time-domain HRV in elite pentathlonists, highlighting the importance of individual physiological response analysis.
HR and HRV shifts during SNSa may inform athlete monitoring; hypothesis-generating for ultra-short-term validation in performance research.
Monitoring of markers reflecting cardiac autonomic activity before and during stressful situations may be useful for identifying the physiological state of an athlete and may have medical or performance implications. The study aimed to determine group and individual changes in short-term (5 min) and ultra-short-term (1 min) heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RespRate), and time-domain heart rate variability (HRV) parameters during sympathetic nervous system activity (SNSa) stimulation among professional endurance athletes. Electrocardiographic recordings were performed in stable measurement conditions (Baseline) and during SNSa stimulation via isometric handgrip in 12 elite modern pentathlonists. Significant increases in short-term HR and decreases in time-domain HRV parameters with no changes in RespRate were observed during SNSa stimulation. Significant differences were observed between Baseline (all minutes) and the last (i.e., 5th) minute of SNSa stimulation for ultra-short-term parameters. Analysis of intra-individual changes revealed some heterogeneity in responses. The study provides baseline responses of HR, RespRate, and time-domain HRV parameters to SNSa stimulation among elite pentathlonists, which may be useful for identifying abnormal responses among fatigued or injured (e.g., concussed) athletes. More attention to individual analysis seems to be necessary when assessing physiological responses to sympathetic stimuli in professional endurance athletes.
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Gąsior et al. (2020) conducted an observational in Elite modern pentathlonists (n=12). Sympathetic nervous system activity (SNSa) stimulation via isometric handgrip vs. Baseline (stable measurement conditions) was evaluated on Changes in short-term (5 min) and ultra-short-term (1 min) heart rate, respiratory rate, and time-domain heart rate variability parameters. Sympathetic nervous system activity stimulation via isometric handgrip significantly increased short-term heart rate and decreased time-domain HRV parameters compared to baseline.
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