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Physical activity and heart rate variability in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study.
Thursday,2014-05-29 13:18 America/Los_Angeles — poolea2
| Title | Physical activity and heart rate variability in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study. |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2014 |
| Authors | Soares-Miranda, L, Sattelmair, J, Chaves, P, Duncan, GE, Siscovick, DS, Stein, PK, Mozaffarian, D |
| Journal | Circulation |
| Volume | 129 |
| Issue | 21 |
| Pagination | 2100-10 |
| Date Published | 2014 May 27 |
| ISSN | 1524-4539 |
| Keywords | Aged, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cross-Sectional Studies, Electrocardiography, Ambulatory, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Health Status, Heart Rate, Humans, Leisure Activities, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Motor Activity, Prospective Studies, Walking |
| Abstract | <p><b>BACKGROUND: </b>Cardiac mortality and electrophysiological dysfunction both increase with age. Heart rate variability (HRV) provides indices of autonomic function and electrophysiology that are associated with cardiac risk. How habitual physical activity among older adults prospectively relates to HRV, including nonlinear indices of erratic sinus patterns, is not established. We hypothesized that increasing the levels of both total leisure-time activity and walking would be prospectively associated with more favorable time-domain, frequency-domain, and nonlinear HRV measures in older adults.</p><p><b>METHODS AND RESULTS: </b>We evaluated serial longitudinal measures of both physical activity and 24-hour Holter HRV over 5 years among 985 older US adults in the community-based Cardiovascular Health Study. After multivariable adjustment, greater total leisure-time activity, walking distance, and walking pace were each prospectively associated with specific, more favorable HRV indices, including higher 24-hour standard deviation of all normal-to-normal intervals (Ptrend=0.009, 0.02, 0.06, respectively) and ultralow-frequency power (Ptrend=0.02, 0.008, 0.16, respectively). Greater walking pace was also associated with a higher short-term fractal scaling exponent (Ptrend=0.003) and lower Poincaré ratio (Ptrend=0.02), markers of less erratic sinus patterns.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>Greater total leisure-time activity, and walking alone, as well, were prospectively associated with more favorable and specific indices of autonomic function in older adults, including several suggestive of more normal circadian fluctuations and less erratic sinoatrial firing. Our results suggest potential mechanisms that might contribute to lower cardiovascular mortality with habitual physical activity later in life.</p> |
| DOI | 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.113.005361 |
| Alternate Journal | Circulation |
| PubMed ID | 24799513 |
| PubMed Central ID | PMC4038662 |
| Grant List | N01HC85239 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01HC85080 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States U01 HL080295 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01HC55222 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01HC85086 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01HC85081 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01HC85079 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States HHSN268201200036C / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01HC85086 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States R01 HL080295 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01HC85082 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01HC85082 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01HC85083 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States HHSN268201200036C / / PHS HHS / United States HL080295 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01HC85083 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01HC85079 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States R01 AG023629 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States N01HC85080 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States AG023629 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States R56 AG023629 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States N01HC85081 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01 HC55222 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States |