ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Background. Heart rate recovery after exercise is a predictor of mortality that is thought to reflect autonomic imbalance. The association between heart rate recovery and prediabetic stages is unclear. Aim. To evaluate the heart rate recovery in patients with diabetes and prediabetes. Patients and Methods. Thirtyfive patients with impaired fasting glucose, 32 patients with impaired glucose tolerance, and 34 patients with diabetes mellitus were included. The control group consisted of 30 healthy individuals. All study participants underwent a maximal graded exercise test, and heart rate recovery was calculated by subtracting the 1st, 2nd and 3rd minute heart rates from the maximum heart rate achieved during the stress testing. Results. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd minute heart rate recovery values of the diabetes mellitus, impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glucose groups were significantly lower than that of the control group. For the 1st minute, heart rate recovery values of the diabetes mellitus patients were significantly lower than that of the control group (19.8±9.4 vs. 25.4±9.9, p<0.001) and the impaired fasting glucose group (19.8±9.4 vs. 22.1±9.3, p<0.01), and the 1st minute heart rate recovery of the diabetes mellitus patients was similar to that of the impaired glucose tolerance group (19.8±9.4 vs. 20.7±5.8, p=0.88). Similar results were obtained in the 2nd and 3rd minute heart rate recovery measurements. The heart rate recovery values of the impaired fasting glucose were significantly higher than those of the diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance patients. In comparing the impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus groups in terms of heart rate recovery values, there was no significant difference.