The Relationship Between VO₂ Max and Heart Rate Variability Parameters in Individuals with High Risk for...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Exercise Physiology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment is crucial for early intervention.
• Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) is a key indicator of cardiorespiratory fitness.
• Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects autonomic nervous system function and has shown potential in assessing cardiovascular health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between various HRV parameters (time and frequency domains) and VO2 max.
• To assess the utility of HRV as a non-invasive marker for cardiorespiratory fitness in individuals at high risk for CVD.
• To determine if HRV parameters can predict VO2 max in an asymptomatic, high-risk population.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 311 high-CVD-risk patients stratified by VO2 max tertiles.
• Collection and comparison of demographic, clinical, echocardiographic, laboratory, and HRV data.
• Spearman correlation analysis to assess associations between VO2 max and HRV parameters (e.g., TP, LF, HF, rMSSD, SDNN index), with adjustments for age.

Main Results:

• Significant moderate correlations were observed between VO2 max and Total Power (TP), Low Frequency (LF), and High Frequency (HF) components of HRV.
• VO2 max also showed significant correlations with rMSSD and the SDNN index.
• These associations remained statistically significant after adjusting for age, indicating a robust relationship.

Conclusions:

• HRV parameters, encompassing both time and frequency domains, are significantly correlated with VO2 max in asymptomatic individuals with high cardiovascular risk.
• These findings highlight the potential of HRV as a valuable tool for estimating cardiorespiratory fitness in this population.
• Further research can explore the predictive value of HRV for cardiovascular events in high-risk individuals.