Changes in Short-Term and Ultra-Short Term Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, and Time-Domain Heart Rate Variability Parameters during Sympathetic Nervous System Activity Stimulation in Elite Modern Pentathlonists—A Pilot Study

Abstract

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.

Reliability of Symbolic Analysis of Heart Rate Variability and Its Changes During Sympathetic Stimulation in Elite Modern Pentathlon Athletes: A Pilot Study

“…Study protocol with details is presented in Figure 1 . Details of the study population (participants), study protocol, ECG acquisition, respiratory rate recordings, and SNSa stimulation have been presented elsewhere ( Gąsior et al, 2020 ; Hoffmann et al, 2020 ). The study was approved by the University Ethical Committee (SKE 01-01/2017, 7 March 2017, Warsaw, Poland) and followed the rules and principles of the Helsinki Declaration.…”

“…HRV analysis has been mostly performed on the basis of group changes in endurance athletes ( Baumert et al, 2006 ; Schmitt et al, 2018 ; Deus et al, 2019 ), which is ineffective in detecting individual athletes’ responses ( Muñoz-López and Naranjo-Orellana, 2020 ). Greater attention to individual analysis seems to be necessary when assessing physiological responses to a specific training or interventions in athletes ( Gąsior et al, 2020 ; Hoffmann et al, 2020 ). Cardiac autonomic modulation is linked to spontaneous respiration ( Eckberg and Eckberg, 1982 ; Eckberg et al, 1985 ; Eckberg, 2003 ; Narkiewicz et al, 2006 ; Bari et al, 2016 ), hence, HRV (mostly frequency-domain) parameters are affected by respiratory depth and frequency ( Hirsch and Bishop, 1981 ; Brown et al, 1993 ; De Souza et al, 2018 ).…”

Superior Adaptations in Adolescent Runners Using Heart Rate Variability (HRV)-Guided Training at Altitude

“…Rapid, reliable, and sensitive HRV metrics permit noninvasive evaluations of autonomic homeostasis (parasympathetic and sympathetic activity), with a higher HRV value reflecting parasympathetic dominance and physical activity readiness [ 9 , 17 ]. While several HRV-guided training strategies have been proposed [ 18 ], recent work using individual HRV values to determine a compensation level to manage the training process has proven to be particularly effective [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Can We Provide Safe Training and Competition for All Athletes? From Mobile Heart Monitoring to Side Effects of Performance-Enhancing Drugs and MicroRNA Research

“…She assessed several morphological and biochemical markers, of which percentage of monocytes, the concentration of sodium, and total calcium were found as predictors of peak oxygen uptake in the regression model [ 9 ]. In a series of two articles, Gąsior & Hoffmann et al focus on the analysis of heart rate (HR), respiratory rate, and heart rate variability (HRV) parameters as potential markers of fatigue and overtraining [ 10 , 11 ]. For that purpose, they studied a group of 12 elite modern pentathlonists and described baseline responses of the studied parameters to sympathetic nervous system activity stimulation, suggesting that the analysis should be individualized [ 10 ].…”

“…For that purpose, they studied a group of 12 elite modern pentathlonists and described baseline responses of the studied parameters to sympathetic nervous system activity stimulation, suggesting that the analysis should be individualized [ 10 ]. They also found that HRV should be interpreted concerning concomitant differences in HR and respiratory rate and technique of registration [ 11 ].…”