The Effect of Age on Recovery of Heart Rate After Exercise

The purpose of this study was to determine if heart rate recovery, following exercise, of active women aged between 50-63 years was significantly slower than the recovery of active women aged 23-24 years when both groups exercised at the same relative perceived intensity. Ten female subjects, five young and five older, were tested during a five minute bout of treadmill exercise while working at a rating of perceived exertion(RPE) of 14. Heart rate was measured prior to and during testing and into recovery using the Vantage Performance Monitor. The time, measured in seconds, it took for each subject to drop 50% from their steady state heart rate to their pre-exercise heart rate was determined. An independent t-test was used to determine if there was a significant differences in rate of recovery between the young and older women. There were no statistically significant differences (