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Effects of Gender and Aerobic Fitness on Cardiac Autonomic Responses to Head-Up Tilt in Healthy Adolescents

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Abstract

Cardiovascular autonomic responses to orthostatic challenges are affected by gender and cardiorespiratory fitness in adults. However, little is know about the effects of these factors in healthy adolescents. We studied 41 adolescents (20 boys and 21 girls) aged 12-17 years, divided into aerobic fitness tertiles based on the results of a maximal treadmill exercise test. Cardiac autonomic modulation was assessed by heart rate variability (HRV) analysis of 5-minute RR interval recordings before and after 70° head-up tilt maneuver. HRV was analyzed by time (TD) and frequency domain (FD) methods. TD was analyzed by standard deviation of the RR intervals and the root mean square of successive differences of RR intervals. The power spectral components were studied at low (LF) and high (HF) frequencies and as the LF/HF ratio. We did not find any differences in TD and FD measures before and after tilt in either gender or fitness groups, except for a higher heart rate response for boys. These results suggests that cardiac autonomic responses to head-up tilt in healthy adolescents are not affected by gender or aerobic fitness.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Leonardo Franklin Ferreira for his careful review of the manuscript. This study was supported by CNPq and Fundacao Araucaria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Fisioterapia Pulmonar, Departamento de Fisioterapia, Hospital Universitario Regional do Norte do Parana, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brasil

    A.F. Brunetto, B.T. Roseguini, B.M. Silva & D.M. Hirai

  2. Centro de Educacao Fisica e Desportos, Departamento de Fundamentos de Educacao Fisica, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brasil

    D.P. Guedes

  3. Rua Vasco da Gama, 128-Aeroporto, 86036-010, Londrina, PR, Brasil

    A.F. Brunetto

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  1. A.F. Brunetto
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  2. B.T. Roseguini
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Brunetto, A., Roseguini, B., Silva, B. et al. Effects of Gender and Aerobic Fitness on Cardiac Autonomic Responses to Head-Up Tilt in Healthy Adolescents. Pediatr Cardiol 26, 418–424 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-004-0808-0

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