Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:19:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissACMT.pdf: 1392039 bytes, checksum: 926f2b2018080b0482855c9db1232aa0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-02-26 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of eccentric strength training (ST) on autonomic control of heart rate (HR) evaluated at rest and during isometric exercise. Nine healthy men (62 ±2 years old) were submitted to 12 weeks of ST for knee extensors and flexors muscles (2x/week, 2-4 series of 8-12 repetitions, 70-80% of eccentric peak torque). Before and after the ST, the HR and its variability were evaluated at rest (supine and seated conditions) and during the sub-maximal isometric contractions (SIC; 15, 30 and 40% of maximal voluntary contraction) of knee extension wich were performed during 240s or until exhaustion. The HR was obtained at pre- (60s), during and post SIC (120s). Then, the variation (&#8710;) between the resting HR and HR at 10, 30, 60s and end of contraction observed during each SIC was analyzed. The HR variability was evaluated by the RMSSD index, which was determined in resting condition and during SIC (i.e., two windows of 30s in duration at the beginning and end of R-R interval data). The ANOVA two-way (repeated measures) and t-test was utilized for statistical analysis (p < 0.05). The ST increased the eccentric torque (extension: 210 ± 38 to 252.7 ± 61 N.m, flexion: 117.6 ± 25.1 to 133 ± 27.3 N.m) , but did not change the HR and HR variability at rest (HR supine: 62 ± 11 to 65 ± 9 bpm, HR seated: 62 ± 11 to 66 ± 9, RMSSD supine: 28.5 ± 18 to 21.5 ± 8.4, RMSSD seated: 30.4 ± 2 to 18.9 ± 6.2). The ST did not modify the isometric peak torque (177.6 ± 25 to 195.2 ± 31,2 N.m) and the time of execution of each SIC (15%: 240 to 240s, 30%: 203.4 ± 55 to 218 ± 5s, 40%: 135.6 ± 56.7 to 144.6 ± 55.6s). During the SIC, the pattern of HR response (significative increase in &#8710;HR from 30s to the end of contraction in 15 and 40%) and the RMSSD index (significative decrease from the first 30s to the last 30s of contraction in all levels of effort) was similar for the pre- and post training. Despite the ST increased the eccentric torque, it did not generate changes in the autonomic control of heart rate at rest and during the SIC. / The aging process is marked by several physiological changes, and the reduction in muscle strength is very important one. In order to minimize this force decline there are recommendations for using resistance training for elderly persons. Some studies available in the literature state that the eccentric contraction would be more suitable for the elderly, since it generates less cardiovascular overload during the exercise. However, the chronic effect of the eccentric strength training (EST) on the heart rate (HR) autonomic modulation is unclear. So, the aim of the first study was to investigate whether the EST changes HR and heart rate variability (HRV) during submaximal isometric contractions (SIC). This study included 17 volunteers who form divided into two groups: training group (9 men, 62 ± 2 years) and control group (8 men, 64 ± 4 years). The results indicate that although this type of training improves eccentric strength, the EST does not have any effect sufficient to promote changes in the autonomic control of HR during isometric exercise. Another important factor to consider is the increase in incidence of cardiovascular disease that occurs with aging. Furthermore, there are modifications of autonomic control of HR related to ageing that are detected by the reduction in HRV and changes in the complexity of physiological dynamics. Based on these considerations the aim of the second study was to verify whether changes in HR modulation, caused by the aging process, can be detected by the Shannon entropy (SE), conditional entropy (CE) and symbolic analysis (SA). In this study were evaluated 21 elderly (63 ± 3 years) and 21 young (23 ± 2 years). Elderly present distributions of patterns in HRV that are similar to young subjects. However, the patterns are more repetitive, thus reducing the complexity. This decrease of complexity comes from the increased presence of stable patterns and a decreased presence of highly variable patterns. This difference indicates that apparently healthy older subjects have a marked unbalance in autonomic regulation. The results of the second study indicate that non-linear approaches might be helpful to better characterize the changes on the autonomic control of HR in the aging process.