Heart rate variability analysis during immediate recovery from exercise in overweight/obese healthy young adult females

Background: Data on heart rate variability (HRV) changes during immediate recovery period after exercise in overweight/obese healthy young adult females are still inconclusive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the heart rate variability (HRV), heart rate recovery (HRR), and arterial blood pressure immediately after cessation of exercise in overweight/obese healthy young adult females. Methods: This study was carried out in the laboratory of the Physiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University. Fifty-five female students were classified into normal weight group and overweight/obese group. HRV, HRR, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP, DBP) were estimated at resting condition and immediately after cessation of exercise. Results: During recovery, heart rate was significantly increased in overweight/obese group along with significant decrease in rMSSD (square root of the mean of the sum of the squares of differences between adjacent NN intervals) and HF (high-frequency power) compared with normal group. The recovery of heart rate, normalized HF, and normalized sympathovagal balance to their baseline values were significantly lowered in overweight/obese group. Both SBP and DBP were significantly lowered from their baseline values during recovery in normal group but unchanged in overweight/obese group. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that overweight/obesity are associated with decreased HRR and delayed vagal reactivation, in addition to impaired postexercise hypotension early in the recovery period after exercise in healthy young adult females.