Heart rate variability in Chinchilla rabbits

Temporal and spectral parameters of heart rate variability were studied as criteria for classification of mature Chinchilla rabbit population according to their basal neurovegetative status. The absolute values of total spectral power density and individual frequency bands differed significantly in vagotonics and sympathotonics. However, standardized spectral power distributions in high-, low- and very low-frequency ranges were similar in both groups. Our results suggest that the intensity of regulatory influences on the heart at all levels of regulation, which can be evaluated by spectral analysis, is similarly distributed in both groups. Hence, the observed differences in the heart rate variability can not be explained by peculiarities in sympathovagal balance, but are determined by more universal mechanisms.