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[Correlations of thyroid hormone with deceleration capacity of heart rate and heart rate variability in children with
Lan-Fen Yi1, Hong-Xia Wen, Mei Qiu
1Department of Electrocardiogram, Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430016, China. 380947312@qq.com.
Insights
Children with hyperthyroidism exhibit cardiac autonomic nerve dysfunction, characterized by reduced heart rate variability (HRV) and vagal tone. Increased thyroid hormone levels correlate with this dysfunction, indicating a higher cardiovascular disease risk.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Endocrinology
- Autonomic Nervous System Function
Background:
- Hyperthyroidism in children can affect cardiovascular health.
- Cardiac autonomic function, assessed via heart rate variability (HRV), may be altered in pediatric hyperthyroidism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate deceleration capacity (DC), acceleration capacity (AC), and HRV in children with hyperthyroidism.
- To examine the correlation between serum thyroid hormone levels and cardiac autonomic function parameters in these children.
Main Methods:
- 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography was performed on 47 children with hyperthyroidism and 50 healthy controls.
- DC, AC, heart rate (HR), and various HRV parameters (SDNN, SDANN, RMSSD, LF, HF) were compared between groups.
- Correlations between free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxin (FT4), and autonomic function metrics were analyzed.
Main Results:
- The hyperthyroidism group showed significantly lower DC, SDNN, SDANN, RMSSD, LF, and HF, and higher AC and HR compared to controls.
- Serum FT3 and FT4 levels were negatively correlated with DC, SDNN, SDANN, RMSSD, LF, and HF.
- Thyroid hormone levels were positively correlated with AC and HR in children with hyperthyroidism.
Conclusions:
- Children with hyperthyroidism demonstrate cardiac autonomic nerve dysfunction, specifically reduced vagal tone.
- Decreasing vagal tone with rising thyroid hormone levels suggests an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease in this population.
Objective:
To investigate deceleration capacity of heart rate (DC), acceleration capacity of heart rate (AC), and heart rate variability (HRV) in children with hyperthyroidism and the correlations of serum thyroid hormone levels with DC, AC, and HRV.
Methods:
A total of 47 children with hyperthyroidism were enrolled as hyperthyroidism group and 50 healthy children were enrolled as control group. The subjects in the two groups underwent 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography. The two groups were compared in terms of DC, AC, heart rate (HR), HRV parameters [standard deviation of normal-to-normal RR intervals (SDNN), standard deviation of average normal-to-normal RR intervals (SDANN), root mean square of successive differences between adjacent RR intervals (RMSSD), low-frequency power (LF), and high-frequency power (HF)]. The correlations of thyroid hormone indices [free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxin (FT4)] with DC, AC, and HRV were analyzed.
Results:
Compared with the control group, the hyperthyroidism group had significantly lower DC, SDNN, SDANN, RMSSD, LF, and HF and significantly higher AC and HR (P<0.05). In the children with hyperthyroidism, serum FT3 and FT4 levels showed significant negative correlation with DC, SDNN, SDANN, RMSSD, LF, and HF and significant positive correlation with AC and HR (P<0.05).
Conclusions:
Children with hyperthyroidism have cardiac autonomic nerve dysfunction manifested as reduced vagal tone. Vagal tone decreases with the increasing serum thyroid hormone levels, suggesting an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
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