Detection of the effect of exercise on APG signals

Exercise is a key aspect of a healthy lifestyle. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of exercise on APG signals in a cool environment. Twenty seven healthy volunteers above the age of 18 years were selected for the experiments. They were asked to walk at a speed of 5 km/hour on a treadmill with an inclination of 1% for 30 minutes, which corresponds to moderate exercise. The PPG signals were collected before and immediately after the exercise. The second derivative is taken to find the APG and APG indices are calculated. After analysing the data it was found that c-d-e component of APG became smoother after exercise. The d-point depression became much less pronounced and disappeared completely in a number of cases. No significant change in the b/a and c/a indices was found for the subjects tested. Results indicate that the d-point depression is inversely related to the heart rate. It may, however, also affected by other variables, such as body temperature or blood flow distribution.