Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 81, Issue 2 743-750, Copyright © 1996 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Role of aerobic capacity and body mass index in the age-associated decline in heart rate variability

E. A. Byrne, J. L. Fleg, P. V. Vaitkevicius, J. Wright and S. W. Porges
University of Maryland, College Park 20742, USA.

The extent to which age-associated changes in aerobic capacity and body composition modulate the age-associated decline in heart rate variability (HRV) is unknown. We therefore measured HRV, peak O2 consumption (VO2peak) during treadmill testing, and relative weight (body mass index; BMI) in 164 healthy normotensive adults (75 men, age 20-87 yr) from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging. Two components of HRV, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; 0.12-0.40 Hz) and 0.10-Hz variability (0.06-0.10 Hz), were extracted from 8-min electrocardiogram recordings in the supine, seated, and standing postures. RSA, 0.10-Hz variability, and VO2peak varied inversely with age; BMI was unrelated to age. Age contributed 15.5-21.1% independent variance to RSA and 13.2-17.3% independent variance to 0.10-Hz HRV. VO2peak did not contribute significantly to RSA or 0.10-Hz HRV beyond the effect of age in any posture. There were no consistent independent contributions of BMI to HRV. Thus, in this population-based sample, age-associated changes in aerobic capacity and relative body weight do not provide the primary explanation for the decline in HRV observed with advancing age.

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