Title Age-related reductions in heart rate variability do not worsen during exposure to humid compared to dry heat: A secondary analysis.
Author Carrillo, Andres E; Flouris, Andreas D; Herry, Christophe L; Notley, Sean R; Macartney, Michael J; Seely, Andrew J E; Wright Beatty, Heather E; Kenny, Glen P
Journal Temperature (Austin) Publication Year/Month 2019
PMID 31934605 PMCID PMC6949029
Affiliation + expend 1.FAME Laboratory, Department of Exercise Science, University of Thessaly, Trikala, Greece.

We conducted a secondary analysis to investigate whether age-related attenuations in heart rate variability (HRV) worsen during exposure to moderate, dry (36.5 degrees C, 20% RH) or humid (36.5 degrees C, 60% RH) heat conditions that resulted in greater body heat storage among older compared to young participants, and during humid compared to dry heat, regardless of age. Six HRV indices [heart rate (HR), coefficient of variation (CoV), detrended fluctuation analysis: alpha1, low frequency power, high frequency power, and low/high frequency ratio] were assessed in 10 young (21 +/- 3 y) and 9 older (65 +/- 5 y) adults for 15-min prior to (baseline), and at the end of a 120-min exposure to dry and humid heat while seated at rest. Our results demonstrated a condition (dry and humid) x time (baseline and end) interaction effect on HR (p = 0.047) such that HR gradually increased during humid heat exposure yet remained similar during dry heat exposure across groups. We also found an age-related attenuation in CoV at baseline for both the dry (young: 0.097 +/- 0.023%; older: 0.054 +/- 0.016%) and humid (young: 0.093 +/- 0.034%; older: 0.056 +/- 0.014%) heat conditions (p < 0.02). Those age-related attenuations in CoV, however, were not magnified throughout the exposure nor different between conditions (p > 0.05). While older adults stored more heat during a brief 120-min exposure to dry heat compared to their young counterparts, this was not paralleled by further age-related impairments in HRV even when body heat storage and cardiovascular strain were exacerbated by exposure to humid heat.

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