Abstract
Background and purpose: The development of public policies must be guided by full knowledge of the health–disease process of the population. Aerobic exercises are recommended for rehabilitation in stroke patients, and have been shown to improve heart rate variability (HRV). Our aim was to compare the cardiac autonomic modulation of elderly stroke patients with that of healthy elderly people during and after an acute bout of aerobic exercise. Methods: A total of 60 elderly people participated in the study (30 in the control group, mean age of 67 ± 4 years; 30 in the stroke group, mean age of 69 ± 3 years). HRV was analyzed in rest—10 min of rest in supine position; exercise—the 30 min of peak exercise; and recovery—30 min in supine position post-exercise. Results: Taking rest and exercises together, for SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50, RRTri, and TINN, there was no difference between the stroke and control groups (p = 0.062; p = 0.601; p = 0.166; p = 0.224, and p = 0.059, respectively). The HF (ms2) was higher and the LF/HF ratio was lower for the stroke group than the control group (p < 0.001 and p = 0.007, respectively). The SD2 was lower for the stroke group than for the control group (p = 0.041). Conclusion: Stroke patients present reduced variability at rest, sympathetic predominance during exercise, and do not return to baseline after the 30 min of recovery, with similar responses found in the healthy elderly group.
Highlights
It is estimated that in 2050 there will be two billion elderly people in the world—~20% of the world population—and that people aged more than 60 years will exceed the population of young people aged under 15 years [1]
The elderly were divided into two groups: the control group (CG—30 healthy elderly individuals) had as inclusion criteria being over 65 years old and not having any cardiovascular or metabolic dysfunction, while the inclusion criteria for the stroke group (SG—30 patients) were having had a stroke diagnosis evidenced by an imaging exam with a medical report, duration of the lesion over one year, and being over 65 years old
Patients from a neurology outpatient clinic were recruited into the stroke group
Summary
It is estimated that in 2050 there will be two billion elderly people in the world—~20% of the world population—and that people aged more than 60 years will exceed the population of young people aged under 15 years [1]. The aging process induces the elderly to be more inclined to the development of cardiovascular, metabolic, and cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke [3]. These changes are linked to an increased susceptibility to sudden death [4]. The development of public policies must be guided by full knowledge of the health–disease process of the population. Aerobic exercises are recommended for rehabilitation in stroke patients, and have been shown to improve heart rate variability (HRV). Our aim was to compare the cardiac autonomic modulation of elderly stroke patients with that of healthy elderly people during and after an acute bout of aerobic exercise. HRV was analyzed in rest—10 min of rest in supine position; exercise—the 30 min of peak exercise; and recovery—30 min in supine position post-exercise
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