Pol. Merkur. Lek (Pol. Med. J.), 2012, XXXIII/198: 313-316

SUMMARY IN POLISH & ENGLISH. FULL ARTICLE ONLY IN POLISH.

Heart rate recovery after exercise in subjects undergoing cardiologic rehabilitation

Mejer A.1, Urzędowicz B.1, Rembek-Wieliczko M.1, Koziróg M.1, Ciećwierz J.2, Kowalski J.1

Medical University of Łódź: 1Department of Internal Diseases and Cardiologic Rehabilitation; 2Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Research indicates that slow heart rate recovery 1–2 minutes after exercise is a predictor of cardiovascular mortality, sudden mortality as well. It is hardly related to myocardial ischemia; most of all, it is related to impaired activities of the parasympathetic system.
The purpose of this study was to assess HRR in subjects after a surgical treatment (percutaneous coronary intervention – PCI) of acute coronary syndromes (ACS), undergoing cardiologic rehabilitation.
Materials and methods. The study comprised 58 subjects, 42 men and 16 women aged 49-68 (56.8 ± 7.6) after ACS treated with PCI undergoing cardiologic rehabilitation (stage 2) – group I. The comparative group comprised 34 subjects, 25 men and 9 women aged 46-61 (55.5 ± 8.9 lat) who were clinically healthy and who underwent a single sub-maximal exercise test – group II. In subjects undergoing rehabilitation, an exercise test was performed twice – before and after stage 2 of rehabilitation. HRR was defined as a difference between the peak heart rate and those after the 1st (HRR1) and 2nd (HRR2) minute of recovery.
Results. After stationary rehabilitation as a part of stage 2 of cardiologic rehabilitation, HRR2 was 26.3 ± 10.6/min and was 40.8/min ± 13.8/min; both these values were not significantly different from values observed in healthy subjects (p>0.05). Significant increase in HRR1 and HRR2 was observed after the completion of stage 2 of cardiologic rehabilitation in ill subjects (p
Conclusions. In subjects after ACS treated with PCI, it is observed that HRR changes back to normal values observed in healthy subjects as a result of underwent cardiologic rehabilitation. HRR should become an important factor in assessing effectiveness of conducted cardiologic rehabilitation.

Key words: acute coronary syndrome, cardiologic rehabilitation, heart rate recovery (HRR)

Pol. Merk. Lek., 2012, XXXIII, 198, 313