Resumen de Influence of Cardiorespiratory Fitness on Cardiac Autonomic Recovery Among Active-Duty Firefighters
David J. Cornell, Flees Robert J., Corey M. Shemelya, Kyle T. Ebersole
It has been suggested that an inability of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) to recover after strenuous events is a potential cause of sudden cardiac death among firefighters. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on the heart rate recovery (HRR) kinetics of firefighters. Thirty-seven male career active-duty firefighters completed both a submaximal step test and a maximal treadmill graded exercise test. A monoexponential curve was fit to postexercise submaximal and maximal HRR data of each subject. Subjects were placed into Low CRF (n = 13) and High CRF (n = 24) groups based on the standard peak aerobic capacity (V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak) criterion of <42 ml[middle dot]kg-1[middle dot]minute-1 and >=42 ml[middle dot]kg-1[middle dot]minute-1, respectively. After controlling for age and body mass index, CRF was significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with the decay rate () and asymptote
