Author(s)

Souad Aboudrar, Hanane Rkain, Leila Errguig, Youssouf Radjab, Latéfa Oukerraj, Abdellatif Azzaoui, Azeddine Ibrahimi, Leslie Coghlan, Mohammed Cherti, Halima Benjelloun, Taoufiq Dakka

Al Akhawayn University, School of Science and Engineering, Ifrane, Morocco.
Centre de Recherche Epidémiologique et Essais Cliniques (CRECET), Laboratoire de Pharmacologie et de Toxicologie, Faculté de.
Institut National des Sports Moulay Rachid, Salé, Marocco.
Laboratoire de Physiologie, Faculté de Médecine et de Pharmacie de Rabat, Université MohammedⅤSouissi, Marocco.
Service de Cardiologie B Faculté de Médecine et de Pharmacie de Rabat, Université Mohammed Ⅴ Souissi, Marocco.
Unité d’exploration du Système Nerveux Autonome, Service Cardiologie A, CHU Ibn Sina, Rabat, Maroc.

Parasympathetic function can be assessed by the deep breathing test (DB) as a simple and reproducible cardiovascular reflex. The aim of this study is to use this test to compare the vagal response of a young footballers group to of age-matched untrained normal subjects. Deep breathing test was performed in 2 groups: one of 20 adult young footballers (average age of 19.3 ± 0.6 years), and a second age-matched group of 20 untrained subjects (average age of 19.6 ± 0.6 years). Subjects underwent the DB test after 30 min resting in supine position, and responses were expressed as a percentage of variation of heart rate during the stimulation. Student’s t-test was used to evaluate statistical differences among the two groups for all parameters (vagal response, heart rate, VO_2max….) and considering p < 0.05 as a significant difference. The results showed that vagal response to deep breathing test was significantly higher in the young footballers when compared to the untrained controls (72.6% ± 16.2% vs 55.0% ± 12.8%, respectively, p = 0.03). The basal heart rate was significantly lower in footballers than in the controls group (52.1 ± 7.4 bat/min vs 69.8 ± 14.3 bat/min, p < 0.01). The use of the simple test of deep breathing allowed us to demonstrate that adult young footballers have a significantly lower basal HR and higher parasympathetic response in comparison to untrained subjects.

Deep Breathing Test; Parasympathetic Response; Autonomic Nervous System; Sudden Death; Trained Footballers

Aboudrar, S. , Rkain, H. , Errguig, L. , Radjab, Y. , Oukerraj, L. , Azzaoui, A. , Ibrahimi, A. , Coghlan, L. , Cherti, M. , Benjelloun, H. and Dakka, T. (2012) Young footballers, assessed by deep breathing test, have a higher vagal response. Open Journal of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, 2, 61-64. doi: 10.4236/ojmip.2012.23009.