Authors: Lemaître, Frédéric; Buchheit, Martin; Joulia, Fabrice; Fontanari, Pierre; Tourny-Chollet, Claire

Source: Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, Volume 79, Number 2, February , 2008 , pp. 99-104(6)

Publisher: Aerospace Medical Association

Abstract:

Lemaître F, Buchheit M, Joulia F, Fontanari P, Tourny-Chollet C. Static apnea effect on heart rate and its variability in elite breath-hold divers. Aviat Space Environ Med 2008; 79:99-104.

Background: The diving response includes cardiovascular adjustments known to decrease oxygen uptake and thus prolong apnea duration. As this diving response is in part characterized by a pronounced decrease in heart rate (HR), it is thought to be vagally mediated. Methods: In five professional breath-hold divers (BHDs) and five less-trained controls (CTL), we investigated whether the diving response is in fact associated with an increase in the root mean square successive difference of the R-R intervals (RMSSD), a time-domain heart rate variability (HRV) index. HR behavior and arterial oxygen saturation (S_ao₂) were continuously recorded during one maximal apnea. Short-term changes in S_ao₂, HR, and RMSSD were calculated over the complete apnea duration. Results: BHDs presented bi-phasic HR kinetics, with two HR decreases (32 ± 17% and 20 ± 10% of initial HR). The second HR decrease, which was concomitant to the pronounced S_ao₂ decrease, was also simultaneous to a marked increase in RMSSD. CTL showed only one HR decrease (50 ± 10% of initial HR), which appeared before the concomitant S_ao₂ and RMSSD changes. When all subject data were combined, arterial desaturation was positively correlated with total apnea time (r = 0.87, P < 0.01). Conclusion: This study indicates that baroreflex stimulation and hypoxia may be involved in the bi-phasic HR response of BHDs and thus in their longer apnea duration.

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Keywords: breath-hold; apnea training; oxygen saturation; RMSSD

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3357/ASEM.2142.2008

Affiliations: 1: From the Centre d'Etudes des Transformations des Activités Physiques et Sportives, Equipe d'Accueil, Faculté des Sciences du Sport et de l'Education Physique de Rouen, Université de Rouen, France (F. Lemaître, C. Tourny-Chollet); the Association pour la Promotion de la Recherche sur l'Apnée et les Activités Subaquatiques (A.P.R.A.A.S.) (F. Lemaître); the Laboratoire de Recherche Adaptations Réadaptations (APS et conduites motrices), Université Jules Vernes, Faculté des Sciences du Sport d'Amiens, France (M. Buchheit); and the Laboratoire d'Ergonomie Sportive et Performance, U.F.R. STAPS, Université de Toulon et du Var (F. Joulia, P. Fontanari).

Publication date: 2008-02-01

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• The peer-reviewed monthly journal, Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine (ASEM) provides contact with physicians, life scientists, bioengineers, and medical specialists working in both basic medical research and in its clinical applications. It is the most used and cited journal in its field. ASEM is distributed to more than 80 nations.
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