Affiliations: [a]
Finnish Institute of High Performance Sport KIHU, Jyväskylä, Finland
| [b]
College of Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Anssi Saari, Finnish Institute of High Performance Sport KIHU, Jyväskylä, Finland. E-mail: anssi.saari@kihu.fi.
Note: [1] This manuscript was produced in partial fulfillment of the doctoral dissertation requirements for the University of Kentucky. Reference: Saari A. Heart Rate Dynamics During and After Simulated Fire Ground Tasks: Effects of Physical Fitness and Training. Theses and Dissertations–Kinesiology and Health Promotion. 2019; 61.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Firefighting is a physiologically demanding occupation and there is a need to evaluate physical and fitness characteristics that are related to attenuated physiological stress during fireground tasks. Previous studies have not measured associations between heart rate responses during simulated fireground tasks with a standardized work rate. OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was to examine associations between heart rate during a standardized pace simulated fireground test (SFGT) and heart rate recovery and variability following the SFGT. In addition, this study sought to evaluate associations between heart rate measures versus physical and fitness characteristics in structural firefighter recruits. METHODS:Twenty-one fire academy recruits performed a standardized pace SFGT while mean heart rate reserve (HRRes) during the SFGT, change in heart rate variability from rest to post-SFGT (LnRMSSDRest-Post), and 60-second post-SFGT heart rate recovery (HRR60) were measured. Regression analyses were conducted between HRRes, LnRMSSDRest-Post and HRR60 and between heart rate measures versus physical and fitness characteristics while accounting for differences in SFGT completion time. RESULTS:HRRes was associated with LnRMSSDRest-Post, but not HRR60. Height and pull-ups explained most of the variance in HRRes, height explained most of the variance in LnRMSSDRest-Post and push-ups and 1.5-mile run explained most of the variance in HRR60. CONCLUSION:Greater cardiovascular stress during fireground tasks is associated with greater depression of post-SFGT heart rate variability, but not heart rate recovery. Physical and fitness characteristics are important to consider in relation to firefighters’ ability to cope with physical stress on the fireground.
Keywords: Cardiovascular system, firefighters, first responders, physical functional performance, workload
