Gaming Instead of Training? Exergaming Induces High-Intensity Exercise Stimulus and Reduces Cardiovascular Reactivity to Cold Pressor Test

Sascha Ketelhut; Reinhard G Ketelhut; Eva Kircher; Lisa Röglin; Kuno Hottenrott; Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken; Kerstin Ketelhut

doi:10.3389/fcvm.2022.798149

Gaming Instead of Training? Exergaming Induces High-Intensity Exercise Stimulus and Reduces Cardiovascular Reactivity to Cold Pressor Test

Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022 Jan 27:9:798149. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.798149. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Sascha Ketelhut¹, Reinhard G Ketelhut², Eva Kircher³, Lisa Röglin¹, Kuno Hottenrott¹, Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken⁴, Kerstin Ketelhut⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Sport Science, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
² Medical Center Berlin (MCB), Cardiology and Sports Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
³ Charité University Medicine Berlin, Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin, Germany.
⁴ Department of Design, Institute for Design Research, Zurich University of the Arts, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁵ Faculty of Natural Science, MSB Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Abstract

Introduction: The present study assessed if an exercise session in an innovative exergame can modulate hemodynamic reactivity to a cold pressor test (CPT) to a similar extent as a typical moderate endurance training (ET). Furthermore, cardiorespiratory, and affective responses of an exergame session and an ET were compared.

Methods: Twenty-seven healthy participants aged 25 ± 4 years (48% female; BMI 23.0 ± 2.1 kg/m²) participated in this cross-sectional study. All participants completed both an ET on a treadmill and training in the ExerCube (ECT). HR and oxygen consumption were recorded during both training sessions. Before and after both exercise sessions, the hemodynamic reactivity to a CPT was determined.

Results: During ECT, HR, oxygen consumption, energy expenditure, and the metabolic equivalent of the task were significantly higher than those obtained during ET (p < 0.001). With regard to the CPT, the participants showed significantly lower responses in peripheral systolic (p = 0.004) and diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.009) as well as central systolic (p = 0.002) and diastolic BP (P = 0.01) after ECT compared to ET. The same was true for pulse wave velocity (p = 0.039).

Conclusion: The ECT induced a significantly higher exercise stimulus compared to the ET. At the same time, it attenuated hemodynamic stress reactivity. The ECT presents a relevant training stimulus that modulates cardiovascular reactivity to stress, which has been proven as a predictor for the development of hypertension.

Trial registration: ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN43067716, 14 April 2020, Trial number: 38154.

Keywords: blood pressure reactivity; cold pressor test; exergaming; games for health; hemodynamics; high-intensity exercise; pulse wave velocity; serious games.