2009/03/20 by Richard P. Sloan, Peter A. Shapiro, Ronald E. DeMeersman +6 · 2 citations
Medicine · #Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control #Cardiovascular and exercise physiology #Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias #Deconditioning #Aerobic exercise #Medicine #Heart rate #Physical therapy #Aerobic capacity #Autonomic nervous system #Heart rate variability #Cardiorespiratory fitness #Internal medicine #Cardiology #Physical medicine and rehabilitation #Blood pressure
paper · doi:10.2105/ajph.2007.133165
openalex publication_date 2009/03/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
OBJECTIVES: We tested the effect of aerobic exercise on autonomic regulation of the heart in healthy young adults. METHODS: Healthy, sedentary young adults (n = 149; age = 30.4 +/- 7.53 years) were randomized to receive 12 weeks of either aerobic conditioning or strength training. Primary outcomes were heart rate and RR interval variability (RRV) measured before and after training and after 4 weeks of sedentary deconditioning. RRV, a noninvasive index of cardiac autonomic regulation, reflects variability in the intervals between consecutive R waves of the electrocardiogram. RESULTS: Aerobic conditioning but not strength training led to a significant increase in aerobic capacity (3.11 mL/kg/min), a decrease in heart rate (-3.49 beats per minute), and an increase in high-frequency RRV (0.25 natural log msec2), each of which returned to pretraining levels after deconditioning. Significant 3-way interactions, however, revealed autonomic effects only in men. CONCLUSIONS: In sedentary, healthy young adults, aerobic conditioning but not strength training enhances autonomic control of the heart, but post hoc analyses suggested that gender plays a significant role in this exercise-related cardioprotection.