Heart rate variability in normotensive subjects with family history of hypertension

Hypertension (HT) is a major silent disease affecting young people because of their hereditary and modern lifestyles. Target organ damages occur before overt hypertension is diagnosed. Many offspring of HT parents show early changes in their cardiovascular autonomic functions. Heart rate variability (HRV) provides a window to understand the cardiac autonomic balance. This study was designed to quantify and to compare the HRV among the normotensive young male offspring without history of parenteral hypertension & diabetic (control group, n = 25, age 20.8 +/- 2.4, BMI 24.4 +/- 3.1) with parenteral history of hypertension & non diabetic (study group n = 25, age 19.7 +/- 1.9, 24.05 +/- 3.5). Blood pressure, heart rate (HR), indices of short term HRV during supine rest and quiet standing, HR variation during timed controlled deep breathing was compared between the two groups. There were significant difference in low frequency (LF) power, HF power, total power. LF and HF expressed also in normalized units at rest and standing. In time domain standard deviation of normal to normal RR interval (SDNN) at supine rest and standing were significant. Respiratory sinus arrthymia (RSA), HF in normalized units, deep breathing difference (BDD) and the ratio of maximum RR to minimum RR were also significant in the control group than study group. In the present study there was an increased sympathetic and decreased parasympathetic activity in the study group. These findings are an early marker of cardiovascular autonomic impairment in subjects with parenteral history of hypertension.