Assessing Psychological Stress in Coronary Artery Disease Through Heart Rate Variability

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Autonomic Nervous System Research
• Psychophysiology

Background:

• Coronary artery disease (CAD) is linked to physiological and psychological stress, affecting cardiac autonomic control.
• Heart rate variability (HRV) serves as a key noninvasive indicator of autonomic nervous system function and stress levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between perceived psychological stress and heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).
• To assess how different stress levels correlate with specific HRV parameters in CAD patients.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional observational study involving 100 CAD patients.
• Psychological stress assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10).
• Heart rate variability (HRV) measured via ECG, analyzing time-domain (SDNN, RMSSD) and frequency-domain (LF, HF, LF/HF ratio) parameters.

Main Results:

• High stress levels were reported by 38% of participants.
• Significantly lower SDNN and RMSSD values were observed in high-stress versus low-stress groups (P < 0.001).
• A higher LF/HF ratio was found in the high-stress group, with a strong negative correlation between PSS scores and RMSSD (r = -0.68, P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Psychological stress causes significant alterations in HRV in CAD patients.
• Findings suggest diminished parasympathetic activity and autonomic dysregulation in stressed CAD patients.
• HRV analysis is crucial for understanding the impact of stress on cardiac autonomic function in CAD.