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Longitudinally Tracking Maternal Autonomic Modulation During Normal Pregnancy With Comprehensive Heart Rate
Maretha Bester1,2, Rohan Joshi2, Massimo Mischi1
1Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Frontiers in Physiology
|May 26, 2022
Summary
Tracking maternal heart rate variability (HRV) during pregnancy reveals how the autonomic nervous system adapts. This study monitored maternal HRV longitudinally, finding small but significant changes indicating good adaptation to pregnancy.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Cardiovascular Health
- Maternal Medicine
Background:
- Maternal autonomic nervous system (ANS) changes are crucial for pregnancy adaptation.
- Poor autonomic adaptation is linked to pregnancy complications like hypertensive diseases.
- Understanding maternal heart rate variability (mHRV) changes throughout pregnancy is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To longitudinally assess maternal heart rate variability (mHRV) in healthy pregnancies.
- To comprehensively evaluate changes in autonomic modulation, including sympathetic and parasympathetic activity, HR complexity, responsiveness, and fragmentation.
- To investigate the dynamic changes in mHRV across gestation.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal assessment of mHRV in 29 healthy pregnancies (median 8 sessions per pregnancy).
- Utilized advanced HRV features to assess sympathetic and parasympathetic activity.
- Included measures of heart rate (HR) complexity, HR responsiveness, and HR fragmentation.
Main Results:
- Significant decreases observed in vagal activity, HR complexity, HR responsiveness, and HR fragmentation.
- Associated effect sizes were small, suggesting good tolerance to gestational demands.
- A notable shift in autonomic activity occurred during the second to third trimester transition.
Conclusions:
- Maternal autonomic nervous system demonstrates adaptive changes throughout pregnancy, generally well-tolerated.
- Frequent, comprehensive mHRV monitoring reveals dynamic gestational changes and potential health indicators.
- Findings contribute to understanding gestational physiology and maternal health monitoring via mHRV.
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