Analysis of Central Hemodynamic Parameters in Medical Students during the Pre-Examination Study Period

Abstract

Background: One of the main negative factors of the educational environment is the increased stress impact on the cardiovascular system of students preparing for examinations. The cumulative effect of a long-term, systematic exposure to stressors may be accompanied by impaired mental and somatic health of students. The extent of response to stress is individual; it is usually determined by cardiovascular health and a complex of psychophysiological characteristics of the body. Objective: To study the main parameters of central hemodynamics in medical students depending on the body mass index and adaptive potential in the pre-examination study period Materials and methods: In spring–summer 2019, 170 medical students (young men and women aged 20.4 ± 0.3 years) with different adaptive potential of the circulatory system were surveyed during a pre-exam study period to establish their anthropometric indicators, blood pressure and heart rate and to further estimate the body mass index and the main central hemodynamics parameters. Results: The average heart rate of students during the pre-exam study period was 85.4 ± 12.21 beats per minute. The level of metabolic and energy processes in the myocardium was characterized as moderate with a tendency to insufficient functional capacity of the cardiovascular system (CI = 90.4 ± 1.22). Significant differences were revealed in a number of parameters un-der study depending on gender, body mass index (F = 3.99; p = 0.00890) and the adaptive potential of the circulatory system (F = 23.08; p = 0.00000). Conclusions: In the pre-examination study period, both the heart rate and the Kerdo index among the students were elevated, which indicates the predominance of sympathetic autonomic stress. The students with tense adaptation mechanisms demonstrated higher values of certain hemodynamic parameters. The pulse pressure and the Robinson index were higher in overweight students compared to their peers with a normal body mass index. None of the students with class 1 obesity had a satisfactory level of adaptation of the circulatory system. The analysis of central hemodynamic parameters enables the assessment of tolerance of the cardiovascular system of students to the burden of learning.