| Title | Heart Rate Variability Is Associated with Motor Outcome 3-Months after Stroke. | ||
| Author | Sethi, Amit; Callaway, Clifton W; Sejdic, Ervin; Terhorst, Lauren; Skidmore, Elizabeth R | ||
| Journal | J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis | Publication Year/Month | 2016-Jan |
| PMID | 26456199 | PMCID | -N/A- |
| Affiliation + expend | 1.Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: asethi@pitt.edu. | ||
OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this paper was to determine whether heart rate variability (HRV) acquired upon admission to inpatient rehabilitation is associated with motor outcome 3 months after stroke. The secondary objective of this paper was to determine whether HRV shows a strong association with the motor outcome 3 months after stroke in individuals with severe initial motor impairments. METHODS: We recruited 13 patients with acute stroke from an acute inpatient rehabilitation hospital. A Holter monitor was placed upon admission and Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity and Lower Extremity Subscales were used to assess the movement of the affected upper and lower extremities 3 months after admission. The standard deviation of R-R intervals was used to quantify HRV. RESULTS: A Spearman rank correlation revealed a strong positive and significant correlation between HRV upon admission and movement of the affected upper extremity (r = .70, P = .01) and affected lower extremity (r = .60, P = .03) at 3 months. For patients with severe initial motor impairments, HRV showed a strong positive association with the movement of the affected upper (r = .61, P = .04) and lower (r = .70, P = .04) extremities at 3 months. CONCLUSION: HRV is strongly associated with motor outcome after stroke and provides a promising marker to explore the mechanisms associated with motor recovery after stroke.