Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate if prefrontal cortex (PFC) oxygenation during incremental exercise is altered among cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients who completed 6 weeks of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Nineteen (male = 14, female = 5; 65.5 ± 11.5 years) participants from an outpatient CR program were enrolled in the study. Each participant completed a submaximal graded treadmill evaluation at intake and again upon completion of 18 individualized CR sessions. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) imaging was used to measure left- and right- PFC (LPFC and RPFC) oxygenation parameters during the submaximal exercise evaluations. Patients showed improvements in cardiorespiratory capacity (pre 5.5 ± 2.5 vs. post 6.9 ± 2.8 metabolic equivalents (METs)). A significant decrease in LPFC and RPFC oxygenation was observed during the post-CR exercise test compared to pre-CR. CVD patients enrolled in 6 weeks of CR showed significant improvements in functional capacity along with decreased cortical oxygenation during submaximal exercise. Exercise training may cause distribution of cortical resources to motor regions that support sustained exercise.
Highlights
Cortical oxygenation and blood flow have been shown to increase during incremental aerobic exercise among healthy adult humans [1]
Patient Characteristics and Changes in Cardiovascular Fitness: Patients displayed improvements in estimated peak functional capacity (6.9 ± 2.8 vs. 5.5 ± 2.5 Metabolic Equivalents (METs), d = 0.53, p < 0.01) and average treadmill walk time (470 ± 212 vs. 376 ± 187 s, d = 0.47, p < 0.01) at completion of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) compared to baseline
The main finding in the current study is that prefrontal cortex (PFC) oxygenation was reduced among cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients duringThe a submaximal exercise test following weeks ofoxygenation cardiac rehabilitation
Summary
Cortical oxygenation and blood flow have been shown to increase during incremental aerobic exercise among healthy adult humans [1]. Cardiovascular fitness, or exercise training status (trained or untrained), appears to influence the rise in cortical oxygenation and blood flow during exercise. Adults with higher peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak), a measure of cardiorespiratory fitness, demonstrated lower prefrontal cortex (PFC) oxygenation and blood flow than healthy sedentary adults at low, moderate, and hard exercise intensities [1]. The ability to divert blood flow and oxygenation to regions of the brain (e.g., motor cortex) that are required for exercise and away from incidental regions (e.g., PFC) as a result of inhibition of task-irrelevant cognitive processes may help to explain lower cortical oxygenation during exercise among trained individuals [2].
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