Heart rate variability is confounded by the presence of erratic sinus rhythm

Phyllis K. Stein, D. Yanez, P. P. Domitrovich, J. Gottdiener, P. Chaves, R. Kronmal, P. Rautaharju

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Decreased heart rate variability (HRV) predicts adverse outcomes. HRV can be elevated by episodes of significant non-respiratory sinus arrhythmia (i.e., a highly erratic sinus rhythm with normal p-waves, ESR). This elevated HRV could confound risk stratification by increasing HRV in high-risk patients. HRV was determined from tapes recorded at baseline in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a population study of older adults. Twenty-four hour time, frequency and non-linear domain HRV was compared between ESR+ and ESR- subjects, with (CVD+) and without (CVD-) cardiovascular disease. ESR+ was associated with higher HRV in the time and frequency domains and with decreased short-term fractal scaling exponent and increased ratios of the dimensions of the Poincaré plot fitted ellipse. (ESR+ and CVD+) subjects with had the highest HRV for virtually all indices, while (ESR- and CVD+) had the lowest HRV. Since decreased HRV is associated with adverse outcomes, ESR is likely to dilute the predictive power of HRV.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)669-672
Number of pages4
JournalComputers in Cardiology
Volume29
StatePublished - 2002
Externally publishedYes
EventComputers in Cardiology 2002 - Memphis, TN, United States
Duration: Sep 22 2002Sep 25 2002

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science Applications
  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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