Abstract

CRUZ-MARTINEZ, Luis Eduardo; ROJAS-VALENCIA, Jaime Tomás; CORREA-MESA, Juan Felipe  and  CORREA-MORALES, Carlos. Maximum Heart Rate during exercise: Reliability of the 220-age and Tanaka formulas in healthy young people at a moderate elevation. rev.fac.med. [online]. 2014, vol.62, n.4, pp.579-585. ISSN 0120-0011.

Background. The formulas to predict maximum heart rate have been used for many years in different populations. Objective. To verify the significance and the association of formulas of Tanaka and 220-age when compared to real maximum heart rate. Materials and methods. 30 subjects -22 men, 8 women- between 18 and 30 years of age were evaluated on a cycle ergometer and their real MHR values were statistically compared with the values of formulas currently used to predict MHR. Results. The results demonstrate that both Tanaka p=0.0026 and 220-age p=0.000003 do not predict real MHR, nor does a linear association exist between them. Conclusions. Due to the overestimation with respect to real MHR value that these formulas make, we suggest a correction of 6 bpm to the final result. This value represents the median of the difference between the Tanaka value and the real MHR. Both Tanaka (r=0.272) and 220-age (r=0.276) are not adequate predictors of MHR during exercise at the elevation of Bogotá in subjects of 18 to 30 years of age, although more study with a larger sample size is suggested.

Keywords : Heart Rate; Reproducibility of Results; Motor Activity; Exercise; Exercise Test; Altitude.

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