2023, Volume 29, Issue 3

EFFECTS OF RECREATIONAL DIVING ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN HEALTHY AND PARAPLEGIC INDIVIDUALS

DOMINIK GRACZYK¹, BARTOSZ MOLIK², JAN GAJEWSKI², KRZYSZTOF MAZUREK³
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¹Physical Education and Sport Division, Armed Forces General Command
²Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw
³Military Institute of Aviation Medicine


Autor korenspondencyjny: KRZYSZTOF MAZUREK; Military Institute of Aviation Medicine; email: kmazurek46@wp.pl

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Streszczenie

Introduction: The aim of the study was to evaluate cardiac autonomic activity during recreational scuba diving by analyzing heart rate variability (HRV) in individuals with paraplegia following spinal cord injury (SCI) compared to healthy controls (C).

Methods: The study was conducted in 38 men, comprising 19 able-bodied individuals serving as controls and 19 participants with paraplegia. Heart rate variability was assessed using a Polar Vantage heart rate recording system during three phases: rest, self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) diving and recovery.

Results: Increased modulation of the cardiac parasympathetic nervous system was found before diving in SCI divers compared to the able-bodied group. As expected during diving, both groups we demonstrated increased cardiac sympathetic activity. However, during SCUBA diving activity, higher cardiac sympathetic modulation was observed in the SCI group compared to the C group. The recovery of HRV indices to baseline values was similar for both groups.

Conclusions: Heart rate variability spectral and time domain analysis proved to be a useful tool for monitoring changes in cardiac autonomic system balance during recreational SCUBA diving for those with paraplegia. This study demonstrates that HRV analysis can be a helpful indirect indicator for the evaluation of the efficiency of recovery and progression of rehabilitation.

Słowa kluczowe

scuba, cardiac autonomic modulation, paraplegia