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Int J Sports Med 2003; 24(1): 57-62
DOI: 10.1055/s-2003-37200
Training & Testing
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Familial Aggregation of Exercise Heart Rate and Blood Pressure in Response to 20 Weeks of Endurance Training: The HERITAGE Family Study

P.  An1 , L.  Pérusse2 , T.  Rankinen3 , I.  B.  Borecki1, 4 , J.  Gagnon5 , A.  S.  Leon6 , J.  S.  Skinner7 , J.  H.  Wilmore8 , C.  Bouchard3 , D.  C.  Rao1, 4, 9
  • 1Division of Biostatistics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
  • 2Department of Preventive Medicine, Laval University, Québec, Canada
  • 3Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
  • 4Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
  • 5Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology, CHUL Research Center, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada
  • 6Division of Kinesiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
  • 7Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
  • 8Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
  • 9Also Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
Further Information

Publication History

Accepted after revision: June 05, 2002

Publication Date:
12 February 2003 (online)

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Abstract

Changes of heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) relative to baseline levels in response to an extended period of endurance training are indices of cardiovascular adaptability. Familial influences were investigated for HR and BP at work rates of 50 W and 60 % of the maximal oxygen uptake (V˙O2max) in response to 20 weeks of endurance training. A total of 481 participants from 99 sedentary White nuclear families in the HERITAGE Family Study (HERITAGE) were analyzed using a familial correlation model. Each of these training response phenotypes was adjusted for the effects of age, BMI, cigarette smoking, baseline V˙O2max, and its baseline values in fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, respectively. We found that maximal heritabilities reached 34 % and 29 % for HR training responses at 50 W and 60 % of V˙O2max, respectively. The heritability was 22 % for systolic BP (SBP) training response at 50 W, but negligible at 60 % of V˙O2max. No significant heritabilities were found for diastolic BP (DBP) training responses at either 50 W or 60 % of V˙O2max. Familial influences for exercise HR and BP training responses were also assessed in a total of 257 participants from 113 Black family units in HERITAGE. However, there was no significant familial resemblance, which may be attributable to the small sample size. In conclusion, HR and SBP training responses during submaximal exercise in Whites were influenced by a modest, but significant, familial component. These observations are therefore in contrast to substantial familial effects (heritability estimates of about 50 %) previously reported for these variables measured at baseline.

Key words

Maximal heritability - genetics - shared environments

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P. An, M.D.

Division of Biostatistics, Campus Box 8067· Washington University School of Medicine

660 South Euclid Avenue · St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA ·

Phone: +1 (314) 362-3614

Fax: +1 (314) 362-2693

Email: anping@wubios.wustl.edu

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