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Objective To identify the differences in cardiac autonomic control between older people with good and poor sleep quality. Material and Methods This is a cross-sectional study with 40 older people aged ≥ 60 years, registered at a community health center in Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil. The sleep quality was assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). To assess heart rate variability (HRV), the RR intervals (RRI) were recorded for 10 min with a validated smartphone app and a wireless transmitter Polar H7 positioned on the patient's chest. The HRV parameters were calculated with Kubios HRV, and the data were analyzed in SPSS. Subjects with good and poor sleep quality (PSQI >5) were compared with the Mann-Whitney U test. Results A total of 31 older people were included in the final analysis, with 18 (58.1%) of them having poor sleep quality. Older people with good sleep quality have similar cardiac autonomic control to those with poor sleep quality. The medians of time (mean RRI, pNN50, SDNN, and RMSSD) and frequency-domain HRV parameters (LFms², LFnu, HFms², HFnu, and LF/HF ratio) were statistically similar (p > .05) in older people with good and poor sleep quality. According to the effect size, the HRV indicators were slightly better among those with good sleep quality. Conclusion There were no statistical differences in cardiac autonomic control between older people with good and poor sleep quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to compare cardiorespiratory effects in men with restrictive lung disorders, according to the abdominal circumference (AC), undergoing respiratory physical therapy. Materials and methods: Quasi-experimental study with a sample 26 men with forced vital capacity (FVC)pred <80%, who were divided into two groups: AC (cm) < 102 (ACfree_risk) and ≥ 102 (ACrisk). Heart rate variability (HRV), peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), blood pressure (BP), lung capacities and maximal expiratory pressure (PEmax) were measured at rest (T1), immediately after physical therapy intervention (T2), which consisted of breathing exercises for pulmonary expansion, active kinesiotherapy to lower and upper limbs, and after 30 min (T3). The statistical tests used were ANOVA and independent t tests (p <.05). Results: ACrisk had the highest values for slow vital capacity (SVC), inspiratory capacity (IC), PEmax and systolic BP (p <.05); there was an increase in HRV (T2), SpO2 (%) [95.0 (2.5) to 96.6 (1.4)] and IC (l) [2.4 (0.5) to 2.7 (0.6)] (T3). Conclusions: Men with restrictive respiratory disorders and AC ≥102 has higher values in the inspiratory capacities and arterial pressure level, and benefit from respiratory physiotherapy by differential increase in IC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. Heart rate variability (HRV) decreases after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) due to changes in cardiac autonomic balance. The purpose of the present study, therefore, was to evaluate the effects of a progressive exercise protocol used in phase I cardiac rehabilitation on the HRV of patients with post-AMI. Material and methods. Thirty-seven patients who had been admitted to hospital with their first non-complicated AMI were studied. The treated group (TG, n == 21, age == 52 ±± 12 years) performed a 5-day programme of progressive exercise during phase I cardiac rehabilitation, while the control group (CG, n == 16, age == 54 ±± 11 years) performed only respiratory exercises. Instantaneous heart rate (HR) and RR interval were acquired by a HR monitor (Polar®®S810i). HRV was analysed by frequency domain methods. Power spectral density was expressed as normalised units (nu) at low (LF) and high (HF) frequencies, and as LF/HF. Results. After 5 days of progressive exercise, the TG showed an increase in HFnu (35.9 ±± 19.5 to 65.19 ±± 25.4) and a decrease in LFnu and LF/HF (58.9 ±± 21.4 to 32.5 ±± 24.1; 3.12 ±± 4.0 to 1.0 ±± 1.5, respectively) in the resting position ( p < 0.05). No changes were observed in the CG. Conclusions. A progressive physiotherapeutic exercise programme carried out during phase I cardiac rehabilitation, as supplement to clinical treatment increased vagal and decreased sympathetic cardiac modulation in patients with post-AMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reduced respiratory muscle endurance (RME) contributes to increased dyspnea upon exertion in patients with cardiovascular disease. Objective: The objective was to characterize ventilatory and metabolic responses during RME tests in post-myocardial infarction patients without respiratory muscle weakness. Method: Twenty-nine subjects were allocated into three groups: recent myocardial infarction group (RG, n=9), less-recent myocardial infarction group (LRG, n=10), and control group (CG, n=10). They underwent two RME tests (incremental and constant pressure) with ventilatory and metabolic analyses. One-way ANOVA and repeated measures one-way ANOVA, both with Tukey post-hoc, were used between groups and within subjects, respectively. Results: Patients from the RG and LRG presented lower metabolic equivalent and ventilatory efficiency than the CG on the second (50±06, 50±5 vs. 42±4) and third part (50±11, 51±10 vs. 43±3) of the constant pressure RME test and lower metabolic equivalent during the incremental pressure RME test. Additionally, at the peak of the incremental RME test, RG patients had lower oxygen uptake than the CG. Conclusions: Post-myocardial infarction patients present lower ventilatory efficiency during respiratory muscle endurance tests, which appears to explain their inferior performance in these tests even in the presence of lower pressure overload and lower metabolic equivalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]