Effect of Sports on Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Variability: An Interventional Study
Abstract
Lack of sufficient physical activity is the second most important contributor to preventable deaths trailing only to tobacco use. So an interventional study was conducted on University students to study effect of sports with Blood Pressure & HRV. Comparison was made between Non exercise control group (n=31) and exercise group (n=31). Exercise group had an intervention of atleast 60 minutes of various sports of moderate to vigorous intensity daily for one year. Various variables of Blood Pressure & HRV were assessed in both the groups and compared by student unpaired 't' test. It was observed in this study that Exercise group had significantly lowered SBP, DBP, MABP. Although there was no significant difference in both the group in frequency domain of HRV but in time domain RR Intervel was significantly lowered in exercise group thanthe other group. So it can be concluded that one hour of Sports intervention significantly decreased Resting Systolic, Diastolic and Mean Arterial Blood Pressure and significantly decreased Resting Heart Rate this indicates a good interplay or modulation between parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system. So these sports activities should be motivated in college students by including in their daily curricular activities.
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Introduction
A sedentary life style has been linked to 28% of deaths from leading chronic diseases.1 Body Fitness Prolongs Life. 2 National programme for prevention and control of Non communicable diseases are already launched as India is expressing a rapid health transition with Non communicable diseases surpassing the burden of communicable diseases. 3 Hypertension is a chronic condition of concern due to its role in the causation of coronary heart disease, stroke and other vascular complication .It is the commonest cardiovascular disorder posing a major public health challenge to population in socioeconomic and epidemiological transition. It is the one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular mortality ,which account for 20-50% of all deaths. 4 Heart Rate Variability (HRV) phenomenon is the oscillation in the interval between consecutive heartbeats as well as the oscillations between consecutive instantaneous heart rates. HRV hasthe potential to provide additional valuable insight into physiological and pathological conditions and to enhance risk stratification. Components of HRV provide measurement of the degree of autonomic modulation rather than of the level of autonomic tone, averages of modulation do not represent an averaged level of tone, in other words HRV measures fluctuation in autonomic inputs to heart rather than the mean level of autonomic inputs. Thus, both autonomic withdrawal and saturating high level of sympathetic input lead to diminished HRV. 5 Role of HRV in different medical areas that include Cardiology and cardiovascular diseases, Neurology, Diabetes mellitus, Glomerulonephrites with renal insufficiency, Pharmacological influence, Toxicology, Work-related stress, Medical ecology, Sports and Fitness, Applied psychology ,Unconventional medical treatments, Transport, army and cosmic medicine, Health (life) insurance. 6
Conclusion
One hour of Sports intervention significantly decreased Resting Systolic, Diastolic and Mean Arterial Blood Pressure, significantly decreased Resting Heart Rate this indicate an economic functioning of heart and increased Heart Rate Variability this indicates a good interplay or modulation between parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system. Study also reflected Physiological basis of blood pressure and HRV.