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Published on: December 11, 2017

Atorvastatin therapy increases heart rate variability, decreases QT variability, and shortens QTc interval duration

Bojan Vrtovec1, Renata Okrajsek, Alenka Golicnik

  • 1Division of Cardiology, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Journal of Cardiac Failure
|December 20, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Atorvastatin improved heart rate variability (HRV) and QT variability (QTV) in heart failure patients. This statin therapy may reduce arrhythmia risk by decreasing QTc interval.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Pharmacology
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Statins are known to reduce ventricular arrhythmias in atherosclerotic heart disease.
  • The antiarrhythmic effects of statins in heart failure patients are not well-defined.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of atorvastatin on heart rate variability (HRV), QT variability (QTV), and QTc interval in patients with advanced heart failure.
  • To assess the potential of atorvastatin to mitigate arrhythmia risk in this population.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized controlled trial involving 80 heart failure patients.
  • 40 patients received atorvastatin; 40 served as controls.
  • High-resolution electrocardiogram analysis was used to measure HRV, QTV, and QTc interval at baseline and after 3 months.

Main Results:

  • At 3 months, the atorvastatin group showed significantly increased HRV (SDNN and rMSSD) compared to controls.
  • The atorvastatin group exhibited significantly decreased QTV (SDNN and rMSSD) and a shorter QTc interval.
  • No significant differences in baseline HRV, QTV, or QTc interval were observed between the groups.

Conclusions:

  • Atorvastatin administration led to significant improvements in HRV and QTV in heart failure patients.
  • The observed decrease in QTc interval suggests a potential reduction in arrhythmia risk.
  • Atorvastatin may serve as a therapeutic option to reduce arrhythmia incidence in advanced heart failure.
Abstract

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