Abstract
BackgroundTai Chi Chuan (TCC) is known to be a good calisthenics for people. This study examined the relationship between pulse harmonics and autonomic nervous modulation in TCC practitioners.MethodsPower spectral measures of right pulse wave and heart rate variability (HRV) measures were compared between TCC practitioners and control subjects. Correlation analyses between pulse harmonics and HRV measures were performed using linear regression analysis.ResultsAt baseline, the total power of pulse (TPp), powers of all individual pulse harmonics, normalized power of the 1st harmonics (nPh1) of TCC practitioners were greater, while the normalized power of the 4th pulse harmonics (nPh4) of TCC practitioners was smaller, than those of the controls. Similarly, the baseline standard deviation (SDRR), coefficient of variation (CVRR), and normalized high-frequency power (nHFP) of RR intervals were smaller, while the normalized very low-frequency power (nVLFP) and low-/high- frequency power ratio (LHR) were larger in the TCC practitioners. The TCC age correlated significantly and negatively with nPh1, and nearly significantly and negatively with nPh2 in the TCC practitioners. Thirty min after TCC exercise, the percentage changes in mRRI, SDRR, TP, VLFP were decreased, while the percentage changes in HR, ULFP, nLFP, and Ph2 were increased, relative to the controls. Correlation analysis shows that the %Ph2 correlates significantly and negatively with %mRRI and significantly and positively with %HR.ConclusionThe TCC practitioners had increased baseline total power of pulse and the 1st and 2nd pulse harmonics, and decreased power of the 4th pulse harmonics, along with decreased vagal modulation and increased sympathetic modulation. After TCC exercise, the power of the 2nd harmonics of TCC practitioners was increased which might be related to the increase in HR due to decreased vascular resistance after TCC exercise.
Highlights
Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is known to be a good calisthenics for people
There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics between the controls and TCC practitioners
The low-/high- frequency power ratio (LHR) correlates significantly and positively with %normalized power of the 4th pulse harmonics (nPh4) and %F1 in the TCC group only. These results suggest that an increase in sympathetic modulation due to TCC exercise might be associated with the increased heart rate (HR) and nPh4 in the TCC group
Summary
Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is known to be a good calisthenics for people. This study examined the relationship between pulse harmonics and autonomic nervous modulation in TCC practitioners. Arterial pulse wave can reflect the rhythmic contractility of the heart, the tension of the vessel wall, and the smoothness of the blood vessels [2]. Many studies have demonstrated the usefulness of pulse waveform analysis in clinical medicine [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. The volume and contour of arterial pulse reflect a combination of cardiovascular functions [3]; the radial waveform can describe the natural history of essential hypertension, the difference between hypertension and chronic nephritis, and the effects of arterial degeneration with ageing on the arterial pulse [9, 10]. Recent investigations demonstrated that the heart rate variability (HRV) is decreased in many kinds of clinical diseases [6,7,8]
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