| Title | Is there increased sympathetic activity in patients with mitral valve prolapse? | ||
| Author | Kochiadakis, G E; Parthenakis, F I; Zuridakis, E G; Rombola, A T; Chrysostomakis, S I; Vardas, P E | ||
| Journal | Pacing Clin Electrophysiol | Publication Year/Month | 1996-Nov |
| PMID | 8945059 | PMCID | -N/A- |
| Affiliation | 1.Cardiology Department, Heraklion University Hospital, Crete, Greece. | ||
The aim of this study was to investigate autonomic nervous system tone in patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP). Heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed from 24-hour ambulatory Holter recordings in 28 patients with primary MVP and in 28 age and sex matched normal control subjects in a drug-free state. Sixteen of the MVP patients were symptomatic and 12 asymptomatic. Spectral HRV was calculated in terms of low (LF: 0.06-0.15 Hz) and high (HF: 0.15-0.40 Hz) frequency components using fast Fourier transform analysis, and the ratio LF/HF was calculated. Spectral analysis of HRV showed that the MVP patients, taken as a single group, had lower HF and LF and a higher LF/HF ratio than the controls. No significant difference in HRV was found between the 16 symptomatic and the 12 asymptomatic patients, but the symptomatic patients had a significantly higher LF/HF ratio than the controls. Our observations suggest that, during normal daily activities, patients with MVP experience a significant deviation in autonomic nervous system tone with predominance of the sympathetic branch. This predominance is more marked in symptomatic patients.