A comparison of exercise response variables among smokers and non-smokers.

Abstract

Heart rate recovery and chronotropic incompetence are two prognostic variables that have been examined as predictors for CAD and all-cause mortality (Cole et al., 1999). Abnormal heart rate recovery is defined as failure of the heart rate to decrease by greater than or equal to twelve beats per minute within the first minute of recovery (Cole, et al., 1999). Chronotropic incompetence is identified as an impaired heart rate response to exercise (Lauer, 2004) and failure to reach 85% of age-predicted heart rate maximum (Lauer et al., 1996). This study examined the effect of an acute bout of exercise on heartrate recovery in smoking and non-smoking men and women (n=32). Participant’s mood and urge to smoke were also examined with two questionnaires before and after. Pearson’s chi-square revealed no significant differences in chronotropic incompetence between the two groups (p=0.833). None of the participants exhibited abnormal heart rate recovery. The within-subjects ANOVA analyzing the Urge to Smoke Questionnaire revealed no significant differences between pre and post exercise urge to smoke among the smoking individuals (n=9; p=0.537). The within-subjects ANOVA revealed no significant differences between pre and post POMS scores among all participants (p=0.517). The findings indicate no effect of smoking status on heart rate recovery or chronotropic response. The findings also indicate no effect of exercise on urge to smoke or mood. Additional studies with larger sample sizes are needed to discover these relationships.