| Title | Heart rate variability parameters and ventricular arrhythmia correlate with pulmonary arterial pressure in adult patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension. | ||
| Author | Yi, Hung-Tao; Hsieh, Yu-Cheng; Wu, Tsu-Juey; Huang, Jin-Long; Lin, Wei-Wen; Liang, Kae-Woei; Su, Chieh-Shou; Tsai, Wan-Jane; Wang, Kuo-Yang | ||
| Journal | Heart Lung | Publication Year/Month | 2014-Nov-Dec |
| PMID | 24929769 | PMCID | -N/A- |
| Affiliation + expend | 1.Cardiovascular Center, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; Institute of Clinical Medicine and Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. | ||
OBJECTIVE: This aim of this study was to correlate heart rate variability (HRV) parameters to pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) in patients with purely idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). BACKGROUND: HRV is decreased in patients with PAH. Whether HRV indices can be used to assess PAP in IPAH patients remains unclear. METHODS: HRV parameters obtained by 24-h ECG were evaluated in 26 IPAH patients and 51 controls. RESULTS: Time-domain HRV parameters (SDNN, p < 0.0001; SDANN, p < 0.0001; RMSSD, p = 0.006) were lower in IPAH patients. Frequency-domain indices (high-frequency power, HFP, p = 0.001; low-frequency power, LFP, p = 0.003; total power, TP, p = 0.001) were also decreased in IPAH patients. In IPAH patients, RMSSD (p = 0.001), HFP (p = 0.015), and LFP (p = 0.027) were significantly correlated with PAP. IPAH patients had longer QTc intervals (p < 0.0001) and more premature ventricular contractions (p < 0.0001) than controls. CONCLUSIONS: IPAH is associated with autonomic dysfunction. RMSSD, HFP, and LFP may be used as a supplemental tool to assess PAP in IPAH patients. IPAH patients with autonomic dysfunction are at high risk for ventricular arrhythmia.