Heart rate recovery as a sensitive indicator of physical activity changes in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women

Heart rate recovery (HRR), which is defined as the rate of heart rate decline after cessation of exercise, is an important indicator of exercise tolerance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a 4-month moderate reduction in physical activity on pre-exercise and exercise heart rate (HR) as well as HRR after exercise cessation in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. 10 physically active females, 62.5±3.0 years old, participated in this study. They performed an 8-min constant power output (~50W) cycling exercise at an intensity corresponding to about 65% of maximal heart rate. Heart rate was measured continuously starting from 1 minute before exercise, during the exercise test and 3 min after exercise cessation. Furthermore, before and after exercise, blood pressure (BP) and tympanic temperature (Tt) were measured. The exercise test was performed twice, before and after a 4-month reduction in physical activity. 4 months of the slight reduction in physical activity (by ~16%) did not cause any changes in pre-exercise and exercise HR, however, significantly higher HR during the 1st min after exercise (p=0.03), as well slower HRR (p=0.03), were reported. No effects of the reduction in physical activity were observed in resting and post-exercise BP and Tt. Even a slight reduction in physical activity is accompanied by a lower rate of HRR , which indicates a decrease in exercise tolerance. These results indicate that HRR is a sensitive indicator of physical capacity also in peri- and postmenopausal women, since the changes in HRR in response to physical activity level occur earlier than changes in pre-exercise and exercise heart rate. heart rate, heart rate recovery, physical activity in the elderly