Measuring Vascular Recovery Rate After Exercise

The rate at which an individual recovers from exercise is known to be indicative of cardiovascular risk. It has been widely shown that the reduction in heart rate immediately after exercise is predictive of mortality. However, little research has been conducted into whether the time taken for the blood vessels to return to normal is also indicative of risk. In this study, we present a novel approach to assess vascular recovery rate (VRR) using the photoplethysmogram (PPG) signal, which is monitored by smart wearables. The VORTAL dataset (http://peterhcharlton.github.io/RRest/) was used for this study, containing PPG signals from 39 healthy subjects before (baseline) and after exercise. 31 VRR indices were extracted from the PPG pulse wave shape, as well as heart rate for comparison. The rate at which indices returned to baseline after exercise was quantified, and the consistency of changes between subjects was assessed statistically. Many VRR indices exhibited changes after exercise which were consistent between subjects. Indices derived from the timings and second derivative of pulse waves were identified as candidates for future work. The rate at which the indices returned to baseline differed between indices and subjects, indicating that they may provide additional information beyond that of heart rate, and that they may be useful for stratifying subjects. This study demonstrated the feasibility of assessing VRR after exercise from the PPG. Future studies should investigate whether VRR indices are associated with cardiovascular fitness, and the potential utility of incorporating the indices into wearable sensors.