Diet Associated with Exercise Training Improves Heart Rate Recovery and Autonomic Control in Metabolic Syndrome Subjects

Abstract

PurposePrevious study showed that metabolic syndrome (SMet) subjects have impaired attenuation of heart rate recovery (ΔHRR) after maximal exercise. Autonomic dysfunction is the possible mechanism involved in this alteration. We tested the hypothesis that hypocaloric diet and exercise training (D+ET) improves DHRR, heart rate reserve and autonomic control in MetS subjects.MethodsNever treated patients with MetS (ATP‐III) were assigned into intervention group (MetS/D+ET, n=33) submitted to D (−500 kcal/day) and ET (40 min, 3 times/week of cycle exercise) and control group (MetS/C, n=23) for 4 months. We evaluated pre and post‐intervention or control period, cardiac autonomic control (LF = low frequency, HF = high frequency, LF/HF = sympathovagal balance) by heart rate variability (ECG), muscle sympathetic nervous activity (MSNA ‐ microneurography) and we calculated the ΔHRR (maximal HR minus HR in the 1st, 2nd and 4th min of recovery) and the heart rate reserve (maximal HR minus resting HR) after cardiopulmonary exercise test.ResultsSMet/D+ET improved metabolic profile, functional capacity and reduce body weight. Compared with pre‐intervention, MetS/D+ET increased HF n.u. (33±3 vs. 39±3 bpm, P=0.01) and decreased MSNA (30±1 vs. 25±2 bpm, P<0.001), LF n.u. (67±3 vs. 61±3 bpm, P=0.02) and LF/HF (3.0±0.3 vs. 2.2±0.4 bpm, P=0.02). Furthermore, MetS/D+ET increased ΔHRR at 1st min (16±1 vs. 21±2 bpm, P=0.02), ΔHRR at 2nd min (28±1 vs. 36±2 bpm, P<0.001), ΔHRR at 4th min (46±2 vs. 56±2 bpm, P<0.001) and heart rate reserve (76±3 vs. 86±3 bpm, P <0.001). No significant change was observed in SMet/C.ConclusionThe intervention by hypocaloric diet and exercise training improves the autonomic control, heart rate reserve and heart rate recovery after maximal exercise in subjects with MetS.Support or Funding InformationGrant #2011/17533‐6, #2015/17533‐6 and #2016/16831‐7, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.