Clinically significant subjective features of highly qualified athletes with different types of cardiac rhythm regulation

Abstract

The aim of the study is to identify the characteristic subjective features of highly qualified athletes with different types of cardiac rhythm regulation.
 Materials and methods. 202 highly qualified male athletes aged 22.6 ± 2.8 years and engaged in acyclic sports were examined. According to the designed survey protocol, all athletes were interviewed using a specifically designed questionnaire, which included 4 questions pools, each of them characterized certain components of athletes’ subjective assessment of their condition and attitude to it during the previous week, as well as studies using spiroarteriocardiorhythmography (SACR).
 Results. The SACR study allowed to divide athletes, taking into account heart rate variability (HRV) parameters, into 4 groups according to the types of their cardiac rhythm regulation.
 Subjective signs that might have clinical significance in the development of cardiovascular overexertion were uncomfortable sensations in the heart, feeling of interruption in the heart work, perspiration at rest, headache after sleep, perspiration at low loads, feeling of fatigue after sleep and night perspiration.
 Uncomfortable sensations in the heart occurred frequently in 1 % of cases and periodically in 15.3 % of cases, and feeling of interruption in the heart work occurred frequently in 0.5 % of cases and periodically in 14.9 % of cases. These indications were typical of people with cardiac rhythm regulations type I and II. In type III the least number of clinically significant features was noted. In type IV the number of significant features was less than in types I and II; however, this is nonsignificant. Probable differences in the features of perspiration at rest were noticed in athletes with type IV in comparison with type III.
 Conclusions. Subjective indications can be employed to verify the regulatory features of the cardiovascular system, which are associated with the centralization of effects. Questionnaires can be useful in differentiating states of overexertion according to parasympathetic type and a state of high training level in type IV cardiac rhythm regulation.