Key result
High cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with significantly higher VO2 at ventilatory and heart rate variability thresholds compared to low fitness, though the thresholds correlated better in the low fitness group.
Why the study?
The study was designed to verify the correspondence between heart rate variability and ventilatory thresholds during progressive exercise testing and evaluate its relationship with aerobic fitness levels.
Does aerobic fitness level affect the correspondence between heart rate variability thresholds and ventilatory thresholds during progressive exercise?
Cross-Sectional (n=20)
No
Does aerobic fitness level affect the correspondence between heart rate variability thresholds and ventilatory thresholds during progressive exercise?
Standardized Mean Difference: 1.58
Absolute Event Rate: 36.3% vs 27.3%
p-value: p=<0.05
Cardiorespiratory fitness affects the correspondence between heart rate variability thresholds and ventilatory thresholds, suggesting that HRV thresholds should be used with caution for assessing metabolic transitions in highly fit individuals.
Threshold assessment requires fitness stratification; leaves open whether this refines exercise prescription.
The aims of this study were to verify the correspondence between heart rate variability (HRV) and ventilatory thresholds during a progressive exercise test and the relationship with low and high aerobic fitness levels. Twenty male volunteers (29.5±6.2 years; 75.9±13.0 kg; 175.0±7.4 cm) were recruited. The subjects were allocated to two groups according to their VO2max <48.8 ml•kg−1•min−1 (low cardiorespiratory fitness group) (n=10) and >48.81 ml•kg−1•min−1 (high cardiorespiratory fitness group) (n=10). A progressive test was performed, consisting of 3-min stages beginning at 25 watts and increasing by 25 watts every 3-min. The HRV threshold (HRVT) and ventilatory threshold (VT) analyses were performed through visual inspection. The comparisons with RMSSD values in percentage of maximum workload resulted in a higher effect size (ES) than the SDNN values. The VO2 in the high cardiorespiratory fitness group at VT (+32%), HRVTRMSSD (+27%), and HRVTSDNN (+31%) was signifi cantly higher compared to the group with low cardiorespiratory fitness. Higher values were observed for relative load (W•kg-1) at VT and HRVTSDNN in the high cardiorespiratory fitness group in comparison with the low cardiorespiratory fitness group (P<0.05), but no difference for VT and HRVTRMSSD. Signifi cant correlations between at VT and HRVTSDNN (r=0.77) were found only in the low cardiorespiratory fitness group. Cardiorespiratory fitness should be regarded as a factor for HRVT evaluation. The HRVTSDNN was closer to the VT in the low cardiorespiratory fitness group than the HRVTRMSSD, however, the use of vagal modulation assessed using the HRV parameter was more sensitive to observe possible differences regarding cardiorespiratory fitness.
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Soares-Caldeira et al. (2020) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy volunteers (n=20). High cardiorespiratory fitness vs. Low cardiorespiratory fitness was evaluated on VO2 at ventilatory threshold (VT) (ES 1.58, p=<0.05). High cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with significantly higher VO2 at ventilatory and heart rate variability thresholds compared to low fitness, though the thresholds correlated better in the low fitness group.
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