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Updated: Feb 21, 2026

Measuring Cardiac Autonomic Nervous System ANS Activity in Children
Published on: April 29, 2013
Altered Nocturnal Cardiovascular Control in Children With Sleep-Disordered Breathing
Fatima El-Hamad1, Sarah Immanuel1, Xiao Liu1
1University of Adelaide, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Adelaide, Australia.
Study Objectives:
To assess cardiovascular control during sleep in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and the effect of adenotonsillectomy in comparison to healthy nonsnoring children.
Methods:
Cardiorespiratory signals obtained from overnight polysomnographic recordings of 28 children with SDB and 34 healthy nonsnoring children were analyzed. We employed an autoregressive closed-loop model with heart period (RR) and pulse transit time (PTT) as outputs and respiration as an external input to obtain estimates of respiratory gain and baroreflex gain.
Results:
Mean and variability of PTT were increased in children with SDB across all stages of sleep. Low frequency power of RR and PTT were attenuated during non-rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Baroreflex sensitivity was reduced in children with SDB in stage 2 sleep, while respiratory gain was increased in slow wave sleep. After adenotonsillectomy, these indices normalized in the SDB group attaining values comparable to those of healthy children.
Conclusions:
In children with mild-to-moderate SDB, vasomotor activity is increased and baroreflex sensitivity decreased during quiet, event-free non-REM sleep. Adenotonsillectomy appears to reverse this effect.
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