Blood pressure, heart rate and lipids in professional handball and water polo players

Abstract

Blood pressure, heart rate and lipoprotein lipids are affected by family history, obesity, diet, smoking and physical activity habits. The aim of this paper was to estimate the values of blood pressure and heart rate in professional handball and water polo players before and after training and submaximal exercise test and to analyze the lipid state in these professional athletes in comparison with people who have never been in sports. The investigation included 30 professional handball players, 30 professional water polo players and 15 men who have never been in sports (control group). All groups were matched for age, smoking habits, family predisposition to arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia. Between these groups there were statistically significant differences of blood pressure values and heart rate in the state of rest, after exercise test and after the training. There were also statistically significant differences of total cholesterol values, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio and total cholesterol/HDL ratio between these groups. Differences between these groups can be explained by various values of body mass index, by activity of lipoprotein lipase in athletes, by body position during the sports activity, by thermoregulatory vasoconstriction in the water, and by effects of hydrostatic pressure and reflex mechanisms during swimming. Cardiovascular reaction in professional athletes depends on the type of sports activity, body position and medium during training. Professional athletes have a lower atherogenic risk than non-sportsmen. Changes of blood pressure and heart rate after submaximal exercise test are not the same as changes after training.