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Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Cardiac Response to β-Adrenergic Stimulation Determined by Pressure-Volume Loop Analysis
Published on: May 19, 2021
Cardiac response during trumpet playing
Donald U Robertson1, Lynda Federoff, Kevin E Eisensmith
1Department of Psychology, Trumpet Studio at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA 15705, USA. durobert@iup.edu
Abstract:
Heart rate, heart rate variability, stroke volume, and cardiac output were measured while six college students and six professionals played trumpet. One-minute rest periods were followed by 1 minute of playing exercises designed to assess the effects of pitch and articulation. Heart rate and heart rate variability increased during playing, but stroke volume decreased. Changes in heart rate between resting and playing were greater for students, although beat-to-beat variability was larger for professionals in the upper register. These results suggest that expertise is characterized by greater physiological efficiency.
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