Heart rate recovery after exercise predicts survival

Heart rate recovery after exercise

Abnormal heart rate recovery after exercise predicts mortality. Jolly et al checked whether heart rate recovery could be improved with cardiac rehabilitation and if such improvement has an impact on mortality. They assessed 1000 odd persons who underwent exercise stress testing before and after completing phase two of a cardiac rehabilitation program. Heart rate recovery was defined as the difference between the peak exercise heart rate and the heart rate at one minute of recovery phase. About 40% of those with abnormal heart rate recovery before rehabilitation had it after rehabilitation as well. Failure of normalization after cardiac rehabilitation was predictive of higher mortality. The mortality rate for those who had normalization after cardiac rehabilitation was similar to those who had normal heart rate recovery at baseline. Thus, heart rate recovery after exercise predicts survival. This study documents that heart rate recovery improves with phase II cardiac rehabilitation and it improves the survival in the responders.

Reference

1. Michael A Jolly, Danielle M Brennan, Leslie Cho. Impact of Exercise on Heart Rate Recovery. Circulation. 2011; 124: 1520-1526.