A Comparison of Heart Rate Coherence between Breast Cancer Survivors and Healthy Controls (2010)

Undergraduate: Zachary Long

Faculty Advisor: Diane Groff
Department: Exercise & Sport Science

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Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women with one in eight women having the disease in their lifetime. Heart rate coherence (HRC) is a physiological condition that is related to the quality of the heart rhythms and autonomic nervous system function. The purpose of this study was to compare the HRC of post-treatment breast cancer patients and healthy women to help develop more effective intervention strategies. HRC scores were analyzed during a baseline just be (JB) condition, while participants engaged in a manage stress (MS) condition, and while participants learned the HeartMath Quick Coherence Technique (HM). Independent samples T-Tests revealed a significant difference in HRC scores between groups in the MS (p = .030) and the HM condition (p = .001) but not during the JB condition (p = .120). Within the breast cancer survivors, paired samples T-test showed a significant difference in HRC scores between the JB and HM conditions (p = .000) and between the MS and HM conditions (p = .000), but not between the JB and MS conditions (p = .244). This study suggests breast cancer survivors may be in greater need of effective stress management techniques compared to healthy women and provides evidence for using HeartMath techniques as an intervention strategy for breast cancer survivors.