Heart rate variability as an index of autonomic imbalance in patients with recent myocardial infarction

W. Craelius, M. Akay, M. Tangella

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Autonomic nervous activities are estimated in three groups of patients; Group A consists of patients who had experienced myocardial infarction (MI) within 2-6 weeks before the tests; Group B consists of patients who had MI more than one year previously; Group C consists of matched controls, free of cardiac disease. Autonomic activity is estimated using postural effects on heart rate variability (HRV): a sympathetic activity index is defined as HRV power within a low frequency band (0·04-0·12 Hz) in the tilt position and a parasympathetic activity index is defined as HRV power in a high frequency band (0·18-0·28 Hz) in the supine position. Results show that, relative to controls, Group A patients have reduced parasympathetic activity index (5+3 against 13+8, normalised units; p<0·05) and an increased ratio of sympathetic to parasympathetic activity (17+17 against 4+2; p<0·05). Group B is not significantly different from Group A or C. The period of 2-6 weeks post-MI thus appears to be characterised by depressed parasympathetic nervous activity which can be measured using HRV analysis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)385-388
Number of pages4
JournalMedical & Biological Engineering & Computing
Volume30
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1992

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Computer Science Applications

Keywords

  • Autonomic nervous system
  • Coronary artery disease
  • Infarction
  • Rehabilitation

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