Desaturation Patterns Detected by Oximetry in a Large Population of Athletes

• Autores: Raúl Pablo Garrido Chamorro, Marta González Lorenzo, José Enrique Sirvent-Belando, Cristina Blasco Lafarga, Enrique Roche Collado
• Localización: Research quarterly for exercise and sport, ISSN 0270-1367, Vol. 80, Nº. 2, 2009, págs. 241-248
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Optimal exercise performance in well trained athletes can be affected by arterial oxygen saturation failure. Noninvasive detection of this phenomenon when performing a routine ergometric test can be a valuable tool for subsequent planning of the athlete�s training, recovery, and nutrition. Oximetry has been used to this end. The authors studied 339 athletes performing a similar exercise trial under well controlled environmental conditions. Maximum speed, oxygen uptake, and heart rate levels were simultaneously measured. From the obtained data, six patterns were found: (a) athletes in whom oxygen saturation is constant ( 95%) during test execution; (b) athletes displaying a progressive desaturation with incremental exercise intensities; (c) athletes presenting a transient desaturation in the anaerobic threshold region; (d) athletes starting with a mild-to-moderate desaturation at the beginning of the test, but reaching normal saturation values at the end; (e) athletes displaying mild-to-moderate desaturation levels throughout the whole test; and (f) athletes displaying a transient desaturation in the anaerobic threshold region and a new desaturation at the end of the test. In conclusion, it is believed that establishment of desaturation patterns by validated oximetry could be a first approach to evaluate the adaptation of the cardiorespiratory system to exercise intensity, helping to improve results.