Does Exercise Increase HRV?

Introduction

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat, reflecting the autonomic nervous system's regulation of the heart. It is often used as an indicator of cardiovascular health and autonomic function. The relationship between exercise and HRV has been extensively studied, with mixed results. This synthesis aims to determine whether exercise increases HRV based on data from multiple research papers.

Key Insights

General Increase in HRV with Exercise:
- Moderate aerobic exercise increases HRV in sedentary postmenopausal women, regardless of hormone replacement therapy use.
- Regular low to moderate intensity physical exercise improves HRV and cardiac autonomic function in middle-aged men.
- Aerobic exercise training increases vagal-mediated HRV parameters in older adults.
- Exercise therapy improves HRV in patients with myocardial infarction, chronic heart failure, and revascularization by increasing vagal tone and decreasing sympathetic activity.
- Moderate-to-vigorous-intensity exercise programs increase time- and frequency-domain measures of HRV in sedentary adult males.
Dose-Dependent Effects:
- A dose-dependent increase in parasympathetically derived HRV measurements is observed in postmenopausal women after 6 months of exercise training, with higher doses conferring greater improvements.
Mixed Results in Specific Populations:
- Neither yoga nor exercise increased HRV in middle-aged women with vasomotor symptoms, suggesting that sample differences may account for mixed results in previous research.
- Exercise enhances cardiac autonomic regulation in cancer patients during and after acute treatment, with significant improvements in HRV parameters.
Mechanisms and Additional Factors:
- Exercise-induced plasma volume expansion is associated with increased post-exercise parasympathetic reactivation, as indicated by higher HRV indices.
- HRV-guided exercise prescription is beneficial in improving fitness and HRV in moderately active men and women, with women achieving significant improvements with lower training loads.

Conclusion

Overall, the evidence suggests that exercise generally increases HRV, particularly through moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise. This effect is observed across various populations, including sedentary postmenopausal women, middle-aged men, older adults, and cancer patients. The improvements in HRV are often dose-dependent and may be influenced by factors such as plasma volume expansion and individualized exercise prescriptions. However, specific populations, such as middle-aged women with vasomotor symptoms, may not experience significant changes in HRV, indicating that individual differences and sample characteristics can affect outcomes.

Summary

Consensus Meter

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Eight weeks of moderate-intensity exercise training increases heart rate variability in sedentary postmenopausal women.

Regular physical exercise, heart rate variability and turbulence in a 6-year randomized controlled trial in middle-aged men: the DNASCO study.

A yoga & exercise randomized controlled trial for vasomotor symptoms: Effects on heart rate variability.

Increased heart rate variability and executive performance after aerobic training in the elderly

Exercise-induced plasma volume expansion and post-exercise parasympathetic reactivation

Improvements in heart rate variability with exercise therapy.

Heart Rate Variability Characteristics in Sedentary Postmenopausal Women Following Six Months of Exercise Training: The DREW Study

The effect of endurance training on resting heart rate variability in sedentary adult males

Daily exercise prescription on the basis of HR variability among men and women.

Exercise Effects on HRV in Cancer Patients

Try another search