Age dynamics of cardiovascular system parameters and autonomic homeostasis in young athletes with different types of autonomic regulation

The aim: to study the age dynamics of the cardiovascular system (CVS) indicators and autonomic homeostasis in young athletes aged 5–7 years with different types of autonomic regulation.

Materials and methods. The study involved 260 young athletes (hockey, football, artistic gymnastics, alpine skiing) aged 5–7 years. The examination included the measurement of heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), active orthostatic test with recording of rhythmocardiogram in the supine and standing positions. The type of autonomic regulation (AR) was determined according to the method of N. I. Shlyk.

Results. In athletes with normal AR (I and III), from 5 to 7 years of age, heart rate decreases (by 5–8 %), systolic and pulse blood pressure increase (by 5–14 %), diastolic blood pressure does not change, and autonomic reactivity to orthostasis increases at 7 years of age. In children with type I, the highest rates of autonomous (30.8–40.1 %) and the lowest rates of central regulation (11.2–19.8 %) in the prone position were recorded at 7 years of age, in athletes with type III — at 6 years of age (12.2–40.2 %). In athletes with dysregulatory types AR (II and IV) in the period from 5 to 7 years, the dynamics of blood pressure, on the contrary, is provided by an increase in diastolic blood pressure (by 7–8 %), vegetative reactivity to orthostasis increases at 6 years of age. Type II is characterized by the lowest activity of autonomous regulation at rest at the age of 6, and type IV is characterized by a directed decrease in the excessive activity of autonomous regulation from 5 to 7 years.

Conclusion. The type of AR is an additional criterion for the adaptation of a child’s body to training at the sports and health stage and for predicting the prospects of young athletes. The age of 6 for young athletes is a period of the greatest risk of developing abnormalities in the system of autonomic regulation of cardiac activity, with an increase in the frequency of dysregulatory types.

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