Post-exercise heart rate recovery and its speed are associated with cardiac autonomic responsiveness following orthostatic stress test in men.

The present study sought to expand upon prior investigations of the relationship between the post-exercise heart rate recovery (HRR) and the cardiac autonomic responsiveness after orthostatic stress test. HRR at the 1st, 3rd, and 5th min after maximal exercise test were correlated with relative change (%) of time-domain (CV, pNN50, and rMSSD) and frequency-domain (TP, LF, HF, and LF/HF ratio) indices of heart rate variability (HRV) after active orthostatic test in 46 healthy men. Statistical analysis employed non-parametric tests with a p-value set at 5%.

Firefighters' basal cardiac autonomic function and its associations with cardiorespiratory fitness.

Background: Firefighters' activities require constant adjustments of the cardiovascular system with cardiac autonomic function (CAF) playing an important role. Despite the crucial role of CAF in regulating stress response, little is known about firefighters' CAF.

Objective: We aimed to characterize the resting on-duty and off-duty CAF of male firefighters, in association with cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF).

Resting Bradycardia, Enhanced Postexercise Heart Rate Recovery and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Recreational Ballroom Dancers.

Purpose: In a cross-sectional study design, we evaluated the resting heart rate (HR) and exercise and postexercise stress test-related chronotropic responses in male practitioners of recreational ballroom dancing (BD; n = 25, M = 26.6 ± 6.1 years) compared to a control group of insufficiently active nondancers (CG; n = 25, M = 25.

Agreement between BMI and body fat obesity definitions in a physically active population.

Objectives: Body mass index (BMI) is a widely used proxy of body composition (BC). Concerns exist regarding possible BMI misclassification among active populations. We compared the prevalence of obesity as categorized by BMI or by skinfold estimates of body fat percentage (BF%) in a physically active population.

Post-exercise heart-rate recovery correlates to resting heart-rate variability in healthy men.

Justificative: The relationship between post-exercise heart-rate recovery (HRR) and resting cardiac autonomic modulation is an incompletely explored issue.

Objective: To correlate HRR with resting supine and orthostatic autonomic status.

Method: HRR at the 1st, 3th, and 5th min following maximal treadmill exercise were correlated with 5-min time-domain (CV, pNN50 and rMSSD) and frequency-domain (TP, LF, HF, LFn, HFn, and LF/HF ratio) indices of heart-rate variability (HRV) in both supine and standing positions in 31 healthy physically active non-athletes men.

Risk factors for prolonged hospital stay after isolated coronary artery bypass grafting.

Introduction: Characteristics of the patient and the coronary artery bypass grafting may predispose individuals to prolonged hospitalization, increasing costs and morbidity and mortality.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate individual and perioperative risk factors of prolonged hospitalization in intensive care units and wards.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study of 104 patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Insights into the clinical and functional significance of cardiac autonomic dysfunction in Chagas disease.

Introduction: Exclusive or associated lesions in various structures of the autonomic nervous system occur in the chronic forms of Chagas disease. In the indeterminate form, the lesions are absent or mild, whereas in the exclusive or combined heart and digestive disease forms, they are often more pronounced. Depending on their severity these lesions can result mainly in cardiac parasympathetic dysfunction but also in sympathetic dysfunction of variable degrees.

Cardiac autonomic and ventricular mechanical functions in asymptomatic chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy.

Background: The association of variably altered cardiac autonomic and ventricular systolic and diastolic functions is still controversial and little explored in chronic Chagas' disease.

Objective: To evaluate the extent to which cardiac autonomic and mechanical ventricular functions are altered and whether they are associated in asymptomatic chagasic cardiomyopathy.

Methods: A total of 13 patients with asymptomatic chagasic cardiomyopathy and 15 normal subjects (control group) were evaluated and the autonomic modulation of heart rate variability for five minutes, in the temporal and spectral domains, in the supine and orthostatic positions, as well as ventricular function based on morphological-functional variables obtained by Doppler echocardiography were correlated.

Cardiac autonomic modulation and cognitive status in Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Although nervous structures affected in Alzheimer's disease are also implicated in autonomic nervous system function, the relationship between autonomic and cognitive functions was not still investigated.

Methods: The cardiac autonomic modulation of 5-min heart interval variability evaluated by time- and frequency-domain indexes, in supine and standing positions, of 22 Alzheimer's disease patients (90.9% women) aged 79.

Distinctive impaired cardiac autonomic modulation of heart rate variability in chronic Chagas' indeterminate and heart diseases.

Introduction: Cardiac autonomic dysfunction occurs in Chagas' indeterminate and heart disease, but comparison of this disturbance between both forms was not yet performed.

Methods: Time- and frequency-domain 5-minute heart rate variability in supine and standing positions were evaluated in 17 subjects with Chagas' disease with the indeterminate form, 13 with heart disease and 15 controls. Trend of variability indices across the groups was also tested.

Cardiac sympathovagal modulation evaluated by short-term heart interval variability is subtly impaired in Alzheimer's disease.

Aim: Alzheimer's disease affects several nervous structures involved with the autonomic nervous system. Therefore, the still scarce evaluation of the cardiac autonomic function in this disease is of great functional, clinical, prognostic and therapeutic relevance.

Methods: Time- and frequency-domain variability of 5-min R-R interval series in supine and standing positions was comparatively evaluated in 22 Alzheimer's disease subjects, aged 60-87 years (mean +/- standard error of the mean, 79.

Teaching cardiac autonomic function dynamics employing the Valsalva (Valsalva-Weber) maneuver.

In this report, a brief history of the Valsalva (Valsalva-Weber) maneuver is outlined, followed by an explanation on the use of this approach for the evaluation of cardiac autonomic function based on underlying heart rate changes. The most important methodological and interpretative aspects of the Valsalva-Weber maneuver are critically updated, and some guidelines are established for simple application of the maneuver in a teaching or research laboratory setting. These include the hemodynamic and cardiac autonomic mechanisms involved, technical aspects such as the intensity and duration of the expiratory straining, frequency of maneuver sessions, training and posture of the individuals tested, different time- and grade change-dependent indexes of heart interval variation, and clinical application of the maneuver.

Cardiac autonomic modulation evaluated by heart interval variability is unaltered but subtly widespread in the indeterminate Chagas' disease.

Background: Cardiac autonomic function in the indeterminate chronic form of Chagas' disease deserves better clearing-up and understanding, since the existing findings are scarce and controversial. This work analyzed the short-term heart interval variability in order to verify the cardiac autonomic modulation in indeterminate Chagas' disease subjects examined in a Brazilian endemic area.

Methods: Variability in time and frequency domain of 5-minute electrocardiogram (ECG) series of R-R intervals in supine and active standing positions were obtained from 18 age-, gender-, body mass index-, lifestyle-, and physical activity-matched chagasics and 18 control healthy subjects examined in Agua Comprida city, MG, Brazil.

Effects of pravastatin on the in vitro phagocytic function and hydrogen peroxide production by monocytes of healthy individuals.

Macrophages play a part in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, oxidizing LDL-cholesterol and transforming themselves in foam cells and producing free radicals of oxygen that may also oxidize LDL-cholesterol. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are very efficient in long-term control of atherogenesis acting by different mechanisms not fully established. Thus, we investigated the in vitro influence of pravastatin on phagocytosis and hydrogen peroxide production by monocytes of healthy individuals.

Digitalis inhibits and furosemide does not change the in vitro phagocytic function of neutrophils of healthy subjects.

This work evaluated the in vitro influence of digitalis and furosemide on the phagocytic function of neutrophils of healthy individuals. Phagocytosis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by peripheral blood neutrophils of 20 healthy individuals was assessed in the absence or presence of deslanoside or furosemide. The Wilcoxon test was employed to compare the data expressed as median and extreme values.

Impaired autonomic control of heart interval changes to Valsalva manoeuvre in Chagas' disease without overt manifestation.

Background: In the apparent indeterminate form of Chagas' disease, which lacks any overt clinical, electrocardiographic, and radiological manifestations of organ damage, lesions of the intrinsic autonomic innervation of heart are not striking features and evidences for cardiac autonomic dysfunction are elusive and conflicting.

Objective: To evaluate the cardiac autonomic modulation based on Valsalva manoeuvre-associated heart interval variation in Chagas' disease subjects with apparent indeterminate form.

Subjects And Methods: We examined 36 outpatient volunteers aged 15-51 years old (median: 36.