Proof-of-concept model for instantaneous heart rate-drift correction during low and high exercise exertion

Introduction: This study aimed to model below and above anaerobic threshold exercise-induced heart rate (HR) drift, so that the corrected HR could better represent V̇O2 kinetics during and after the exercise itself.Methods: Fifteen healthy subjects (age: 28 ± 5 years; V̇O2Max: 50 ± 8 mL/kg/min; 5 females) underwent a maximal and a 30-min submaximal (80% of the anaerobic threshold) running exercises. A five-stage computational (i.e., delay block, new training impulse-calculation block, Sigmoid correction block, increase block, and decrease block) model was built to account for instantaneous HR, fitness, and age and to onset, increase, and decrease according to the exercise intensity and duration.Results: The area under the curve (AUC) of the hysteresis function, which described the differences in the maximal and submaximal exercise-induced V̇O2 and HR kinetics, was significantly reduced for both maximal (26%) and submaximal (77%) exercises and consequent recoveries.Discussion: In conclusion, this model allowed HR drift instantaneous correction, which could be exploited in the future for more accurate V̇O2 estimations.