Efeito do nível de atividade física e aptidão aeróbia na modulação autonômica cardíaca: estudo da variabilidade da freqüência cardíaca em supino e na postura ortostática em jovens saudáveis

Abstract

The heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive tool to study the neurocardiac regulation in various physiological conditions, such as the ones when at rest and postural maneuvers. Research has suggested that the cardiac autonomic modulation is influenced both by the level of physical activity and by the level of aerobic fitness (VO2 peak), being characterized by the increase of the vagal activity and the reduction of the sympathetic nerve activity when at rest. Most studies analyze the effect of the level of physical activity on the HRV in rest conditions, and the influence of the initial aerobic fitness of the individuals is not analyzed separately, being the latter mentioned as a determining factor of the HRV in some studies with active individuals. The general purpose of this study was to determine the respective associations of the level of physical activity and aerobic fitness with the cardiac autonomic modulation by means of the analysis of the HR and HRV in conditions of rest and in the orthostatic posture (OP) in young, healthy individuals and with aerobic fitness close to that of the population average. Two study models were defined. In the first study, the purpose was to verify the influence of the level of aerobic fitness in the cardiac autonomic modulation of young sedentary individuals by means of the analysis of the HR and HRV in rest conditions and the OP. 24 healthy, non-obese male individuals aged from 18 to 29 years old took part in this study. They were allocated in two groups, according to the VO2 peak, measured by means of the cardiopulmonary test: high peak VO2 with mean values of 44.2 ± 4.8 ml/kg/min (n=11) and low peak VO2 values of 33.8 ± 4.2 ml/kg/min (n=13). There was significant difference between the groups only in the HRV indexes in the domain of the frequency at rest. The individuals with high peak VO2 presented higher HFnu values and lower LFnu values and LF/HF ratio, which suggests greater vagal activity and lesser sympathetic activity at rest. There were no differences in the variables regarding the peak VO2 in the OP. The study suggests that the level of aerobic fitness influences the HRV in sedentary individuals in rest condition, but not in OP. The second study made it possible to compare individuals with similar levels of aerobic fitness, which allowed to determine the capacity of the physical activity to modify the cardiac autonomic modulation, minimizing the influence of the aerobic fitness factor. The purpose of this study was to verify the influence of the level of physical activity in the HR and HRV at rest and during the OP in young, healthy individuals with similar aerobic fitness. The sample was composed of 34 individuals, limited by peak VO2. The subjects were divided - according to the level of usual physical activity - into three groups: sedentary, low physical activity levels and moderate, according to the gross values of the physical activity/sport domain of the Baecke Questionnaire. The results suggest that low and moderate intensity level of physical activity do not influence the HRV in the rest condition and in OP in young, healthy individuals with similar mean values of peak VO2 which are close to the population average. Thus, it is important to isolate the effect of the level of aerobic fitness and of the physical activity in the studies involving HRV in healthy youngsters, as such factors can modify it in different ways in static and dynamic physiological conditions.