Heart Rate as a Marker of Stress in Ambulance Personnel: A Pilot Study of the Body's Response to the Ambulance Alarm

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kåre Karlsson ◽  
Patrik Niemelä ◽  
Anders Jonsson

AbstractIntroduction: Studies have demonstrated the presence of stress and post-traumatic stress among ambulance personnel, but no previous research has focused on the body's reaction in the form of the change in heart rate of ambulance staff in association with specific occupational stress.Hypothesis: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether work as an ambulance professional generates prolonged physiological arousal that can be measured by heart rate in different situations.Methods: Twenty participants carried a pulse-meter in the form of a wristwatch, which continuously measured and stored their heart rate 24 hours per day for a period of seven days. All ambulance alarms that occurred during the test period were recorded in journals, and the participants completed diaries and a questionnaire describing their experiences. The alarms were divided into different phases. Correlations between heart rate in the different phases were computed.Results: Analysis of study data indicated a significant rise of heart rate unrelated to physical effort during an emergency alarm and response. This increased heart rate was noticed throughout the mission and it was not related to the length of experience the staff had in the ambulance profession. In addition, a non-significant trend suggested that alarms involving acutely ill children lead to an even higher increase in heart rate. In addition, this research showed that constant tension existed during sleep, while available for an emergency, indicated by a noticeable increase in heart rate during sleep at work compared to sleeping at home.Conclusions: A rise in heart rate was experienced during all acute emergency missions, regardless of a subject's experience, education, and gender. Missions by themselves generated a rate increase that did not seem to correlate with physical effort required during an emergency response. This study shows that working on an ambulance that responds to medical emergencies is associated with a prolonged physiological arousal.

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Władysław Mynarski ◽  
Małgorzata Grabara ◽  
Michał Rozpara ◽  
Agnieszka Nawrocka ◽  
Aneta Powerska-Didkowska ◽  
...  

Summary Study aim: the objective was to assess and compare the energy expenditure (EE) and exercise heart rate (EHR) during Nordic Walking (NW), and conventional walking (W) in physical education and tourism/recreation university students. Material and methods: a total of 53 women and 65 men, students at the Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, and Polytechnic in Opole, in Poland, were investigated to assess the EE of Nordic Walking and conventional walking, and to measure the EHR, a uniaxial accelerometer – Caltrac Monitor, and a pulsometer – Polar RS 400 SD were used. After a standard warm-up, the participants (joined group) were marching with poles for 30 minutes, at a speed regulated by the group’s leader, who used footpod’s indications: 5.5–6.5 km/h – in Katowice, and 7.5–8.5 km/h – in Opole. After a break, during which the participants’ heart rate decreased below 100 bpm, the above actions and measurements were repeated, during normal walking. Results: energy expenditure during Nordic Walking (EE NW), expressed in kcals and METs, was in women and in men, at both analyzed speeds, significantly higher (p < 0.05) than during conventional walking (EE W). EHR was higher during NW, compared to W, and the statistically significant differences were revealed both in female’s and male’s groups. Conclusions: our study data have shown that EE and EHR during Nordic Walking, have been significantly higher than during conventional walking, regardless of the moving speed and gender. NW might present a useful modality in prevention of hypokinetic disorders.


2020 ◽  

Introduction: Purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in Tp-e/QTc rates and Tp-e intervals in patients poisoned with tricyclic antidepressants. Methods: 187 patients who were poisoned with tricyclic antidepressants and admitted to our emergency department were included in this study. Control group consisted of 187 healthy individuals with similar age and gender characteristics. All patients underwent 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECG). In addition to QTc measurement, Tp-e/QTc ratios and Tp-e interval were measured in the ECG. Study data were divided two groups as patients and healthy controls. Results: It was found that the QTc interval, Tp-e interval, and Tp-e/QTc ratio were significantly higher in the patient group compared to control group. The analysis demonstrated that QTc interval; Tp-e interval and Tp-e/QTc ratio were independently associated with heart rate. Conclusion: In poisoning with TCAs, the rate of QTc interval, Tp-e/QTc and Tp-e interval has increased and is independently associated with the heart rate in these patients. This may be the precursor of possible fatal ventricular arrhythmias in tricyclic antidepressants.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie E. Brintz ◽  
Daniel L. Hall ◽  
Barry E. Hurwitz ◽  
Charles S. Carver ◽  
Youngmee Kim

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominika Wilczynska ◽  
Patrycja Lipinska ◽  
Malgorzata Wolujewicz-Czerlonko

AbstractBackground: The purpose of the following research was to find out the influence of imaginary training based on intention implementation on throw effectiveness of young basketball players, both male and female in stressogenic situations. Individual differences (action vs state orientation) between players were also measured in this research.Material/Methods: 76 players (32 females and 44 males) in the cadet category (15-16 years old) from basketball clubs of Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot took part in this research. In the first stage all players did a throw efficiency test ERPE 05 under two conditions, and their heart rate was measured. Then players were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first one did imaginary training based on the influence of intention implementation for 10 days, while the other did not. After 10 days ERPE 05 test under two conditions was run again.Results: Test results showed that intention implementation does not influence effectiveness improvement in stressogenic conditions as far as state-oriented players are concerned, but it does lower the physiological cost of physical effort in form of a decreased heart rate.Conclusions: This research proves that visualization training based on implementation instructions does influence young players’ physiology and significantly lowers their heart rate under stressogenic conditions. However useful, visualization techniques used in this research still need other tests and should be applied for a longer period of time to acutely show how they affect young players’ mental preparation


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 355
Author(s):  
Ikram Sabaoui ◽  
Said Lotfi ◽  
Mohammed Talbi

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced around the world, new student lifestyles have had an impact on their daily behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine post-traumatic stress associated with the initial COVID-19 crisis in students (N = 280) with a mean age of 13 ± 1.70 and to determine the relationship between their reported daily behaviors in terms of their gender. The study was conducted primarily in Casablanca and Marrakech, the two cities most affected by the pandemic at the time of the study in Morocco in May 2020. Our sample consists of 133 high school students and 147 middle school students, 83.6% of whom are females. Students were asked to answer questions based on an Activity Biorhythm Questionnaire, the Post-Traumatic Stress Scale (Weathers et al., 1993), the Hamilton Scale (Hamilton, 1960), the Worry Domains Questionnaire (Tallis, Eyzenck, Mathews, 1992), and the Visual Analog Scale of Moods (VASM) (Stern et al., 1997). The results obtained confirm that there is a significant relationship between the circadian rhythm of some variables and gender in some activities such as academic study (p < 0.05) and TV and Internet use (p < 0.05) and was highly significant for physical activity (p = 0.001), while others are not significant in relation to other schedules of the same variables or in relation to others. Likewise, for the psychological conditions, significant relationships with mood states and depressive tendencies were confirmed. In lockdown, the students’ daily lives underwent changes in circadian rhythm and lifestyle. Therefore, it is necessary to treat their current psychological problems and avoid future complications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansoureh Refaei ◽  
Soodabeh Aghababaei ◽  
Mansoureh Yazdkhasti ◽  
Farideh Kazemi ◽  
Fatemeh Farahmandpour

Background: Several risk factors have been identified for postpartum hemorrhage, one of which being the duration of the third stage of labour. This stage refers to the interval between the expulsion of the fetus to the expulsion of the placenta. Some bleeding occurs in this stage due to the separation of the placenta Objective: This study aimed to identify the factors associated with the length of the third stage of labour. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 300 women hospitalized for vaginal birth were selected via convenience sampling. The study data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. Then, the data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses. Results: The mean (SD) age of the participants was 26.41 (6.26) years. Investigation of the relationship between the study variables and the time of placental separation indicated that a minute increase in the length of membranes rupture caused a 0.003minute decrease in the time of placental separation. However, this time increased by 2.75, 6.68, and 2.86 minutes in the individuals without the history of abortion, those with the history of stillbirth, and those who had not received hyoscine, respectively. The results of multivariate analysis indicated that suffering from preeclampsia or hypertension, history of stillbirth, not receiving hyoscine, and not receiving misoprostol increased the length of the third stage by 4.40, 8.55, 2.38, and 6.04 minutes, respectively. Conclusion: Suffering from preeclampsia and having the history of stillbirth increased and using hyoscine and misoprostol decreased the length of the third stage of labour. However, no significant relationship was found between the length of the third stage of labour and mother’s age, gestational age, parity, mother’s body mass index, mother’s chronic disorders, history of manual placenta removal, length of the first and second stages, membranes rupture, induction, amount of oxytocin after delivery, and infant’s weight and gender.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
MA Bejar ◽  
I Zairi ◽  
I Ben Mrad ◽  
B Besbes ◽  
K Mzoughi ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background During Ramadan, alterations in the daily patterns of sleep, activities and medication timing might contribute to changes in blood pressure (BP) and heart rate among hypertensive patients. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of medication timing during Ramadan on blood pressure and heart rate in hypertensive subjects taking their treatment once daily. Methods The study prospectively recruited 44 hypertensive patients between April and June 2019, followed up at the cardiology department of our   Hospital. A 24-hour pressure monitoring was carried out during two periods: prior to Ramadan and during the last ten days of Ramadan. Results We studied 29 women and 15 men, mean age was 58.7 years. 34% of the patients were diabetics and 16% had coronaropathy. 46% of the patients were on monotherapy, 43% on dual therapy and 11% on a triple antihypertensive therapy. During Ramadan, 57% of the patients took their treatment during the dinner (group1), whereas 43% took their treatment during the Shour (group 2). Average 24hour blood pressure in the whole group was 129 ± 18/74 ± 10 mmHg before Ramadan and 129 ± 19/74 ± 10 mmHg during Ramadan (p &gt; 0.05). Daytime and nighttime mean values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as mean values of heart rate were not different between both periods regardless of age and gender. However, during Ramadan, those who took their treatment after dinner had significant higher values of 24 hour systolic BP, awake systolic and diastolic BP, asleep systolic and diastolic BP than those who took their treatment with the shour (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusion In this study, there were no significant changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressures as well as heart rate during the 2 periods. However, during Ramadan, a slight superiority of taking the treatment with the shour is observed. Average values of BP and heart rate Group 1 Group 2 p 24 hour SBP (mmHg) 134 ± 23 122 ± 6 0.017 24 hour DBP (mmHg) 76 ± 12 70 ± 5 0.052 Awake SBP (mmHg) 138 ± 23 125 ± 6 0.012 Awake DBP (mmHg) 79 ± 12 73 ± 5 0.044 Asleep SBP (mmHg) 127 ± 26 114 ± 12 0.030 Asleep DBP (mmHg) 71 ± 13 65 ± 7 0.045 24 hour average heart rate (bpm) 71 ± 7 70 ± 6 0.524 Awake average heart rate (bpm) 76 ± 7 74 ± 7 0.322 Asleep average heart rate (bpm) 65 ± 7 65 ± 7 0.931 Average values of blood pressure and heart rate in both groups Abstract Figure. 24hour course of blood pressure


Entropy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Hortelano ◽  
Richard Reilly ◽  
Francisco Castells ◽  
Raquel Cervigón

Orthostatic intolerance syndrome occurs when the autonomic nervous system is incapacitated and fails to respond to the demands associated with the upright position. Assessing this syndrome among the elderly population is important in order to prevent falls. However, this problem is still challenging. The goal of this work was to determine the relationship between orthostatic intolerance (OI) and the cardiovascular response to exercise from the analysis of heart rate and blood pressure. More specifically, the behavior of these cardiovascular variables was evaluated in terms of refined composite multiscale fuzzy entropy (RCMFE), measured at different scales. The dataset was composed by 65 older subjects, 44.6% (n = 29) were OI symptomatic and 55.4% (n = 36) were not. Insignificant differences were found in age and gender between symptomatic and asymptomatic OI participants. When heart rate was evaluated, higher differences between groups were observed during the recovery period immediately after exercise. With respect to the blood pressure and other hemodynamic parameters, most significant results were obtained in the post-exercise stage. In any case, the symptomatic OI group exhibited higher irregularity in the measured parameters, as higher RCMFE levels in all time scales were obtained. This information could be very helpful for a better understanding of cardiovascular instability, as well as to recognize risk factors for falls and impairment of functional status.


Author(s):  
Sidharth Sraban Routray ◽  
Ramakanta Mohanty

ABSTRACTObjective: During laparoscopic surgeries, pneumoperitoneum can lead to various pathophysiologic changes in the cardiovascular system resulting inhypertension and tachycardia. Search for ideal drug to prevent this hemodynamic response goes on. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect oforally administered moxonidine in attenuating the hemodynamic responses that occur during the laparoscopic surgeries.Methods: A total of 50 adult acetylsalicylic acid I and II patients scheduled for elective laparoscopic surgeries were selected for this prospectiverandomized double-blinded study. They were randomly allocated into two groups: moxonidine group (M) and placebo group (P). M group receivedoral moxonidine 0.3 mg at 8 pm on the day before surgery and at 8 am on the day of surgery. P group received a placebo at the same timing as that ofthe M group.Results: Following pneumoperitoneum rise in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR)was higher in P group in comparison to M group which was statistically significant.Conclusion: Significant rise in HR, SBP, DBP, and mean BP was noted in the P group in comparison to moxonidine group. Moxonidine provided betterperioperative hemodynamic stability in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgeries.Keywords: Moxonidine, Stress response, Laparoscopic.


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