An examination of single day vs. multi-day heart rate variability and its relationship to heart rate recovery following maximal aerobic exercise in females

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of a single day measure of heart rate variability (HRV), and the averaged baseline measures of HRV to heart rate recovery (HRR) following maximal exercise. Thirty females (22.9 ± 3.2 years, 64.8 ± 8.4 kg) completed four visits (V1–V4), where a 10-min HRV was recorded. Upon completing the V4 recording, a treadmill graded exercise test (GXT) was performed, followed by a 5-min active cool down. HRV was assessed through time domain measures [natural log of root mean square of successive R–R differences (lnRMSSD) and standard deviation of normal to normal intervals (lnSDNN)] and natural log frequency domain measures [low frequency (lnLF) and high frequency (lnHF)]. Variables collected over V1–V4 were measured as; day of (DO) GXT, 3 day (AV3), and 4 day average (AV4). HRR was calculated as the maximal HR achieved minus the HR at: 30-s (HRR30), 1-min (HRR1), 2-min (HRR2), 3-min (HRR3), 4-min (HRR4) or 5-min (HRR5) of recovery. Pearson’s Product correlations revealed significant correlations ( P =