Risk Management in Physical Therapy for Cardiovascular Diseases: Applicability of Czermak-Hering Reflex and Aschner Reflex

The changes in the R-R interval and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in response to Aschner Reflex and Czermak-Hering Reflex were investigated in 14 healthy male subjects. The bradycardic effect of those reflexes was confirmed, and a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the Aschner method induced greater bradycardia effect compared with the Czermak-Hering method. Aschner Reflex may, however, exert dangerously strong bradycardia effect depending on a patient, and Czermak-Hering Reflex is therefore suitable for risk management by a physical therapist. Czermak-Hering Reflex was demonstrated to have a depressor effect occasionally carrying risk to the patients with disorders of active stimulus generation, especially with atrial fibrillation. It was therefore suggested that Czermak-Hering Reflex should only be used with caution for the patients with paroxysmal atrial tachycardia.