Heart Rate Recovery, Central Systolic Pressure, and Augmentation Index in Young Healthy Individuals

Purpose: Measuring heart rate recovery (HRR) holds valuable cardiovascular information and requires minimal technical skill and cost. Understanding the associations between HRR and more robust cardiovascular indicators, such as central systolic blood pressure (CSBP), can provide valuable cardiovascular information with less involvement. CSBP is a strong predictor of certain cardiovascular diseases. The study aims to examine the association between measures of HRR and CSBP and the augmentation index (AIx) in a group of young, healthy individuals and based on sex.

Participants and methods: One-hundred and seven participants (men - 55, women - 52) were measured for HRR at one minute (HRR₁) and two minutes (HRR₂) after maximum oxygen consumption (VO_2max) testing, CSBP, and the AIx at a heart rate of 75 beats∙min^-1 (AIx@75).

Results: The Pearson correlation indicated no association between HRR₁, HRR₂, and CSBP in men and women combined: r = 0.06, P = 0.53; r = 0.05, P = 0.59, respectively, or based on sex: men = r = 0.01, P = 0.95; r = 0.04, P = 0.79, respectively, and women = r = -0.05, P = 0.75; r = -0.09, P = 0.52, respectively. However, there were associations between HRR₁ and AIx@75 in men and women combined: r = -0.37, P < 0.001, and based on sex: men = r = -0.31, P = 0.02, and women = r = -0.38, P < 0.01.

Conclusion: Measures of HRR were not associated with CSBP in a combined group of young men and women or based on sex. Most measures of HRR, especially those established by parasympathetic nervous activity, were associated with lower AIx@75. Though measures of HRR might be good indicators of cardiovascular disease, they might not be good indicators of CSBP in young, healthy individuals.