BACKGROUND: Kinetic oscillation stimulation in the nasal cavity (KOS) has been shown to have positive symptomatic effects in subjects with non-allergic rhinitis and in patients with migraine. METHODS: To evaluate the effect of KOS on autonomic function, we assessed heart rate variability (HRV) in this small exploratory study in 12 healthy subjects. KOS treatment was performed using a minimally invasive system with a single-use catheter inserted into the nasal cavity. During treatment, the tip was inflated and oscillated with a mean pressure of 95 millibar and amplitude of the oscillations of 100 millibar at a frequency of 68 Hz. Treatment was given for 15 minutes sequentially on each side. Heart rate variability was assessed during five 30-minutes periods before, during and immediately after KOS treatment and 3.5 hours thereafter. KOS resulted in a substantial reduction of HRV. RESULTS: As compared to baseline recorded during 30 minutes preceding treatment, VLF was reduced by 65%, LF by 55%, the ratio LF/HF by 44%, with somewhat smaller observed effects in the time domain; SDNN and RMSDD were reduced by of 36% and 18%, respectively. Heart rate remained stable during treatment with minimal mean changes from 68 +/- 7 bpm before to 68 +/- 9 and 69 +/- 9 bpm during and after treatment. Reduction of HRV parameters was consistently seen in all subjects, with rapid onset and return towards baseline values during post-treatment observation periods. CONCLUSIONS: KOS has an effect on the autonomic balance with pronounced heart-rate independent reduction on HRV.