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Sexual dimorphism in heart rate recovery from peak exercise

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Abstract

Purpose

There is lack of consensus on whether sex, per se, affects heart rate recovery (HRR). To discriminate between the role of sex and that of cardiovascular fitness on HRR, we compared two groups of male and female participants matched for age and peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) percentile.

Methods

Forty healthy individuals with above-average cardiovascular fitness (VO2peak >50th percentile), aged 18–27 years (23 men; 17 women), performed maximal cycle-ergometer tests with cardiorespiratory measurements. HRR was obtained at 1 and 2 min of passive recovery. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine whether the relationship between VO2peak and HRR differed between sexes.

Results

Men attained greater peak values for VO2 and work rate (p < 0.05). Both groups of participants exhibited similar heart rate response to peak exercise and no sex differences were observed in VO2peak percentile or ventilatory threshold. HRR at 1 and 2 min of passive recovery was similar between sexes. In multiple linear models, VO2peak explained 11.2% of the variance in HRR1min both in men and women (p < 0.05). Most importantly, sex, VO2peak, and their interaction were all significant predictors of HRR2min (explained variance 29.2%) (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

This study shows that, for a given VO2peak percentile (>50th percentile), there is no sexual dimorphism in HRR obtained at 1 or 2 min of recovery. It also demonstrates that, in persons with similar VO2peak values, HRR obtained at 2 min of peak exercise cessation is affected by sex.

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Abbreviations

HRR:

Heart rate recovery

VO2peak :

Peak oxygen uptake

BMI:

Body mass index

VO2 :

Oxygen uptake

Ve/VO2 :

Ventilatory equivalent for oxygen

Ve/VCO2 :

Ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide

Ve:

Minute ventilation

VCO2 :

Carbon monoxide output

VT:

Ventilatory threshold

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

HRR1min :

Heart rate recovery at 1 min post-exercise

HRR2min :

Heart rate recovery at 2 min post-exercise

SPSS:

Statistical package for social sciences

CHRM2:

Cholinergic receptor muscarinic 2

ADRA2B:

Alpha-2B adrenergic receptor

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

DBP:

Diastolic blood pressure

MAP:

Mean arterial pressure

RER:

Respiratory exchange ratio

FU VO2peak :

Fractional utilization of peak oxygen uptake

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Acknowledgements

This study was not supported by any funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIPER: Laboratory of Motor Behavior, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal, Estrada da Costa, Cruz Quebrada, Dafundo, 1499-002, Lisbon, Portugal

    Goncalo Vilhena de Mendonca

  2. Laboratory of Motor Behavior, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal, Estrada da Costa, Cruz Quebrada, Dafundo, 1499-002, Lisbon, Portugal

    Carolina Teodósio

  3. CIPER: Department of Mathematics, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal, Estrada da Costa, Cruz Quebrada, Dafundo, 1499-002, Lisbon, Portugal

    Paula Marta Bruno

Authors
  1. Goncalo Vilhena de Mendonca
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  2. Carolina Teodósio
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  3. Paula Marta Bruno
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Goncalo Vilhena de Mendonca.

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The authors declare that there they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Communicated by Keith Phillip George.

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de Mendonca, G.V., Teodósio, C. & Bruno, P.M. Sexual dimorphism in heart rate recovery from peak exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol 117, 1373–1381 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-017-3627-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-017-3627-8

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