Heart Rate Variability Measurements Across the Menstrual Cycle and Oral Contraceptive Phases in Two Olympian Female Swimmers: A Case Report
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Subjects
2.2. Study Design
2.3. HRV Monitoring
2.3.1. Orthostatic Test (HRV After Awakening)
2.3.2. Night Measurements
2.4. Menstrual Status Monitoring and Phase Determination
2.5. Training Load
2.6. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Athlete 1
3.1.1. Menstrual Cycle
3.1.2. Training Load
3.1.3. Orthostatic Awaking Test
3.1.4. Night Measurements
3.2. Athlete 2
3.2.1. Oral Contraceptive Use
3.2.2. Training Load
3.2.3. Orthostatic Awaking Test
3.2.4. Night Measurements
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
ANS | Autonomous Nervous System |
APP | Active Pill Phase |
E2 | Estradiol |
FP | Follicular Phase |
HRV | Heart Rate Variability |
HR | Heart Rate |
LF | Low Frequency |
LP | Luteal Phase |
MC | Menstrual Cycle |
OC | Oral Contraception |
P4 | Progesterone |
RMSSD | Root Mean Square of Successive Difference |
RPE | Rating of Perceived Exertion |
sRPE | Rating of Perceived Exertion of the Session |
SDNN | Standard Deviation of NN intervals |
ST | Standing |
SU | Supine |
WP | Withdrawal Pill |
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Phases | Menstruation | Mid-FP | Late-FP | Early-LP | Mid-FP | Late-FP | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SU position | |||||||
SDNN | 41 (25–64) | 52 (37–71) | 58 (38–67) | 31 (19–75) | 45 (28–62) | 44 (25–76) | 0.234 |
LF (ms2) | 303 (42–902) | 344 (99–796) | 313 (87–775) | 107 (51–570) | 150 (48–544) | 289 (88–512) | 0.267 |
HF (ms2) | 112 (39–1030) | 576 (93–1245) | 562 (71–1114) | 71 (29–691) | 169 (45–1030) | 270 (50–906) | 0.093 |
LF+HF (ms2) | 446 (82–1910) | 983 (195–2180) | 924 (168–1676) | 206 (78–1461) | 474 (106–1478) | 542 (142–1432) | 0.157 |
ST position | |||||||
SDNN | 55 (45–72) | 52 (43–64) | 59 (46–69) | 60 (37–72) | 49 (39–68) | 48 (35–66) | 0.732 |
LF (ms2) | 471 (286–788) | 512 (336–798) | 431 (304–801) | 432 (292–650) | 373 (241–768) | 376 (193–722) | 0.391 |
HF (ms2) | 278 a (128–483) | 206 b (120–309) | 226 c (100–396) | 219 (70–328) | 150 (85–324) | 96 (52–193) | 0.006 |
LF+HF (ms2) | 844 (415–1311) | 790 (492–1087) | 827 (477–1079) | 702 (461–921) | 696 (355–919) | 530 (250–96) | 0.143 |
Variables | Phases | Variables | Phases | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SU Position | WP | APP | p-Value | ST Position | WP | APP | p-Value |
SDNN | 101 (92–109) | 105 (90–114) | 0.413 | SDNN | 55 (48.02–70.18) | 51 (37–61) | 0.129 |
LF (ms2) | 1271 (993–1652) | 1471 (995–2195) | 0.411 | LF (ms2) | 723 (486–1151) | 579 (290–887) | 0.041 |
HF (ms2) | 5309 (4301–6269) | 5306 (3968–6777) | 0.757 | HF (ms2) | 175 (113–361) | 148 (92–228) | 0.127 |
LF+HF (ms2) | 7012 (5488–8129) | 7243 (4997–8614) | 0.593 | LF+HF (ms2) | 956 (586–1775) | 748 (449–1077) | 0.040 |
HF/HR | 125 (94–153) | 114 (88–149) | 0.683 | LF/HF | 4 (2–5) | 3 (2–5) | 0.783 |
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Share and Cite
Dupuit, M.; Barlier, K.; Tranchard, B.; Toussaint, J.-F.; Antero, J.; Pla, R. Heart Rate Variability Measurements Across the Menstrual Cycle and Oral Contraceptive Phases in Two Olympian Female Swimmers: A Case Report. Sports 2025, 13, 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports13060185
Dupuit M, Barlier K, Tranchard B, Toussaint J-F, Antero J, Pla R. Heart Rate Variability Measurements Across the Menstrual Cycle and Oral Contraceptive Phases in Two Olympian Female Swimmers: A Case Report. Sports. 2025; 13(6):185. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports13060185
Chicago/Turabian StyleDupuit, Marine, Kilian Barlier, Benjamin Tranchard, Jean-François Toussaint, Juliana Antero, and Robin Pla. 2025. "Heart Rate Variability Measurements Across the Menstrual Cycle and Oral Contraceptive Phases in Two Olympian Female Swimmers: A Case Report" Sports 13, no. 6: 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports13060185
APA StyleDupuit, M., Barlier, K., Tranchard, B., Toussaint, J.-F., Antero, J., & Pla, R. (2025). Heart Rate Variability Measurements Across the Menstrual Cycle and Oral Contraceptive Phases in Two Olympian Female Swimmers: A Case Report. Sports, 13(6), 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports13060185