The Effects of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Blood Pressure, Arterial Function, and Heart Rate Variability in Men Living With HIV

Juliana Pereira Barros; Tainah de Paula; Mauro Felippe Felix Mediano; Marcus Vinicius Dos Santos Rangel; Walace Monteiro; Felipe Amorim da Cunha; Paulo Farinatti; Juliana Pereira Borges

doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.685306

The Effects of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Blood Pressure, Arterial Function, and Heart Rate Variability in Men Living With HIV

Front Physiol. 2021 Jul 15:12:685306. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.685306. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Juliana Pereira Barros¹, Tainah de Paula², Mauro Felippe Felix Mediano^{3

4}, Marcus Vinicius Dos Santos Rangel¹, Walace Monteiro^{1

5}, Felipe Amorim da Cunha¹, Paulo Farinatti^{1

5}, Juliana Pereira Borges¹

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Program in Exercise and Sports Sciences, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
² Department of Clinical Medicine, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
³ Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Research and Education, National Institute of Cardiology, Ministry of Health, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
⁵ Graduate Program in Physical Activity Sciences, Salgado de Oliveira University, Niteroi, Brazil.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effects of acute cycling on blood pressure (BP), arterial function, and heart rate variability (HRV) in men living with HIV (MLHIV) using combined antiretroviral therapy (cART).

Methods: Twelve MLHIV (48.7 ± 9.2 years; 25.2 ± 2.8 kg m^-2) and 13 healthy controls (41.2 ± 9.9 years; 26.3 ± 2.9 kg m^-2) performed a cycling bout (ES) (intensity: 50% oxygen uptake reserve; duration: time to achieve 150 kcal-MLHIV: 24.1 ± 5.5 vs. controls: 23.1 ± 3.0 min; p = 0.45), and a 20-min non-exercise session (NES).

Results: At rest (p < 0.05), MLHIV presented higher brachial systolic/diastolic BP (SBP/DBP: 123.2 ± 14.2/76.8 ± 6.3 vs. 114.3 ± 5.1/71.6 ± 2.6 mmHg) and central BP (cSBP/cDBP: 108.3 ± 9.3/76.5 ± 6.5 vs. 101.6 ± 4.9/71.3 ± 4.4 mmHg) vs. controls but lower absolute maximal oxygen uptake (2.1 ± 0.5 vs. 2.5 ± 0.3 L min^-1) and HRV indices reflecting overall/vagal modulation (SDNN: 24.8 ± 7.1 vs. 42.9 ± 21.3 ms; rMSSD: 20.5 ± 8.5 vs. 38.1 ± 22.8 ms; pNN50: 3.6 ± 4.2 vs. 13.6 ± 11.3%). DBP postexercise lowered in controls vs. MLHIV (∼4 mmHg, p < 0.001; ES: 0.6). Moreover, controls vs. MLHIV had greater reductions (p < 0.05) in augmentation index (-13.6 ± 13.7 vs. -3.1 ± 7.2% min^-1; ES: 2.4), and HRV indices up to 5 min (rMSSD: -111.8 ± 32.1 vs. -75.9 ± 22.2 ms min^-1; ES: 3.8; pNN50: -76.3 ± 28.3 vs. -19.0 ± 13.7% min^-1; ES: 4.4). Within-group (ES vs. NES; p < 0.05) reductions occurred in controls for SBP (∼10 mmHg, 2 h), DBP (∼6 mmHg, 20, 30, and 70 min), cSBP (∼9 mmHg, 30 min), cDBP (∼7 mmHg, 30 and 70 min), augmentation index (∼10%, 30 min), and pNN50 (∼20%; up to 2 h), while in MLHIV only cSBP (∼6 mmHg, 70 min) and cDBP (∼4 mmHg, 30 min) decreased. Similar increases (up to 5 min) in heart rate (∼22 bpm) and decreases in SDNN (∼18 ms) and rMSSD (∼20 ms) occurred in both groups.

Conclusion: MLHIV under cART exhibited attenuated postexercise hypotension vs. healthy controls, which seemed to relate with impairments in vascular function.

Keywords: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM); autonomic nervous system (ANS); health; heart rate variability (HRV); post-exercise hypotension.