Wearing A Mask During High-Intensity Exercise Did Not Impact Hemodynamics During Exercise

1. In a healthy population, wearing a mask during high-intensity exercise does not change hemodynamic response during exercise.

2. In a healthy population, wearing a mask during high-intensity exercise causes an increase in heart rate during the recovery period after exercise.

Evidence rating level: 1b

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was very challenging for countless people. With the mental health challenges that this virus presented, a large proportion of individuals became more sedentary. Exercise opportunities such as sports events were halted due to social distancing regulations. Whether wearing a mask during exercise impacts athletic or hemodynamic function remains controversial. This relationship has especially been understudied during the recovery period post-exercise. Thus, this study aimed to assess the effect of different face masks on hemodynamic markers during high-intensity exercise and the post-exercise recovery period.

In this randomized control trial, 10 participants were included; 5 males and 5 females. The inclusion criteria were individuals bet 18-30 years old. Exclusion criteria included if patients were current smokers or if they had pulmonary, cardiovascular, metabolic, or renal disease. Participants were asked to complete 4 exercise conditions and 2 control conditions while wearing different face masks. The primary outcome measures were of cardiac output, systemic vascular resistance, and blood pressure measured before, during, and after exercise.

The results showed that there were no significant differences in cardiac output, systemic vascular resistance, heart rate, and brachial pressures between exercise with or without a mask. Furthermore, individuals wearing masks (surgical or cloth) had higher post-exercise heart rates than individuals who did not wear a mask during exercise. However, this study was completed only on young individuals, making generalizing these results to older populations difficult. Nonetheless, this study provided some insight that mask-wearing does significantly impact hemodynamics during exercise.

Click here to read this study in Journal of Human Sport and Exercise

Image: PD

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