Exercise and lifestyle predictors of resting heart rate in healthy young adults

Abstract

Physical exercise is well-understood to provide significant health benefits, through physiological adaptations induced by the repeated exertion stress exercise imposes on our systems.  Chief among these are cardiovascular adaptations to exercise, including adjustments of cardiac parameters such as stroke volume, heart rate, and maximal cardiac output.  It is commonly assumed that aerobic forms of exercise provide greater cardiovascular benefits than do non-aerobic forms of exercise.  To test this assumption, exercise habits and resting heart rate were examined in a large population of healthy young adults.  90% of subjects reported regular physical exercise, with aerobic exercise constituting 64% of all exercise hours.  Subjects with a history of smoking exhibited higher resting heart rates than those with no smoking history, an effect which was due primarily to a reduction in exercise hours by smokers than due to a smoking habit itself.  While both total exercise amount and aerobic exercise amount were significantly and negatively related to resting heart rate, total exercise amount was a better overall predictor of resting heart rate than was aerobic exercise amount.  All forms of exercise were associated with cardiovascular health, with cardiovascular benefits accruing according to the amount of exercise performed, even in optimally healthy young adults.