INTRODUCTION: Heart rate is an easy parameter to control and prescribe exercise intensity. When performing an exercise in aquatic environment significant physiological changes occur; these changes must be understood to prescribe exercise, causing to appropriate adaptive effects. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review of literature on the behavior of heart rate by immersion in rest situations and during aquatics exercises, as well as understanding the factors that influence it. RESULTS: The results showed that heart rate may be influenced by the immersion due to the gradient of hydrostatic pressure exerted on the body and to different thermoregulation. At rest, the heart rate can change according to different water temperatures, body positions and depths of immersion. However, the magnitude of the effect of each factor on the heart rate has not been well defined. CONCLUSION: During aquatic exercise, this variable is proportional to the speed of execution, use of resistive equipment, projected area and the muscle group involved and inversely proportional to the depth of immersion.
Heart rate; Immersion; Aquatic exercise
