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Effects of head impact exposure on in-game heart rate dynamics in Canadian varsity football athletes

Zafar, Abdullah, Martens, Géraldine, Guay, Samuel, Vinet, Sophie-Andrée, Wagnac, Eric, Corbin-Berrigan, Laurie-Ann, Prince, François, Pantazis, Jaden, Prince, Simon et De Beaumont, Louis. 2026. « Effects of head impact exposure on in-game heart rate dynamics in Canadian varsity football athletes ». Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.
Compte des citations dans Scopus : 1. (Sous presse)

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Résumé

Objectives To characterize the association between head impact exposure and heart rate dynamics during varsity football games. Design Prospective observational study following a convenience sample of 72 athletes over two seasons. Methods Athletes wore instrumented mouthguards and chest-strap sensors to record head impact exposure, heart rate, and velocity. After filtering for physiologically relevant recovery segments (n =7693), linear mixed-effects models assessed associations between head impact exposure and heart rate dynamics, controlling for physical exertion and inter-individual variability. Exploratory non-linear associations were modeled using generalized additive mixed models. Results Greater acute impact magnitude was associated with elevated heart rate and delayed time to peak heart rate recovery (p <0.001), independent of running speed. Random slopes analysis further indicated substantial inter-individual variability in the immediate cardiac response to impacts. Higher accumulated session-wide impact exposure demonstrated a non-linear relationship with heart rate recovery speed; recovery dynamics remained preserved at lower exposure levels (i.e., ≤200 g) but were progressively attenuated at higher cumulative loads (i.e., >200 g). Conclusions Head impact exposure is associated with systematic alterations in heart rate recovery dynamics during live sport participation. These findings identify cardiovascular recovery as a sensitive, non-invasive physiological signal linked to head impacts, independent of measured locomotor workload variables. While clinical outcomes were not assessed, the results demonstrate the feasibility of integrated wearable monitoring to characterize physiological strain and motivate future studies linking impact history with functional and clinical endpoints.

Type de document: Article publié dans une revue, révisé par les pairs
Chercheur(-euse):
Chercheur(-euse)
Wagnac, Éric
Affiliation: Génie mécanique
Date de dépôt: 29 juin 2026 17:25
Dernière modification: 28 sept. 2026 13:07
URI: https://espace2.etsmtl.ca/id/eprint/33858

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