Heart rate variability in patients with systemic sarcoidosis

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Autonomic Nervous System Function
• Systemic Sarcoidosis

Background:

• Identifying systemic sarcoidosis patients at risk for sudden death remains challenging.
• Autonomic dysfunction may contribute to ventricular arrhythmias in sarcoidosis.
• Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis is a valuable tool for assessing autonomic activity and predicting mortality risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate HRV in patients diagnosed with systemic sarcoidosis.
• To determine if HRV differs between patients with cardiac sarcoidosis and those without.
• To compare HRV in sarcoidosis patients with a healthy control group.

Main Methods:

• 35 patients with biopsy-proven systemic sarcoidosis and no antiarrhythmic medication were included.
• Cardiac sarcoidosis was defined by abnormal thallium scintigraphy and normal coronary arteriography in 16 patients.
• 24-hour Holter monitoring was used for time-domain HRV analysis, calculating the standard deviation of NN intervals (SDNN).

Main Results:

• No significant differences in age, sex, or ejection fraction were observed among cardiac sarcoidosis, noncardiac sarcoidosis, and control groups.
• Patients with cardiac sarcoidosis exhibited significantly lower mean SDNN values compared to both noncardiac sarcoidosis and control groups (72 ± 32 ms vs. 110 ± 46 ms and 152 ± 36 ms, respectively).
• A statistically significant decrease in HRV was noted in the cardiac sarcoidosis group (P < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Heart rate variability (HRV) is demonstrably decreased in individuals with systemic sarcoidosis when compared to healthy controls.
• This reduction in HRV is more pronounced in patients diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis.
• HRV may serve as a potential biomarker for risk stratification in systemic sarcoidosis patients.