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Stability of index of heart rate variability in patients with congestive heart failure

P K Stein1, M W Rich, J N Rottman

  • 1Division of Cardiology, Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, Washington University Medical Center, MO 63110, USA.

American Heart Journal
|May 1, 1995
PubMed

Insights

Heart rate variability (HRV) indexes are stable in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). This finding supports using HRV to monitor autonomic function in stable CHF patients.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Physiology
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Heart rate variability (HRV) is a key indicator of autonomic nervous system function.
  • The stability of HRV indexes in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) is not well-established.
  • Autonomic dysfunction is common in CHF and impacts prognosis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the test-retest reliability of time and frequency domain HRV indexes in stable CHF patients.
  • To compare the stability of HRV indexes with serum norepinephrine levels and respiratory sinus arrhythmia.

Main Methods:

  • Seventeen stable CHF patients (Class II/III) underwent Holter monitoring twice, two weeks apart.
  • Paired t tests and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to determine stability.
  • Serum norepinephrine levels and respiratory sinus arrhythmia were also assessed.

Main Results:

  • High ICCs (>0.72) were observed for 24-hour, daytime, and nighttime time-domain HRV indexes.
  • Frequency-domain HRV indexes showed excellent stability (ICCs 0.86-0.91).
  • Serum norepinephrine and respiratory sinus arrhythmia showed moderate repeatability but did not correlate significantly with HRV.

Conclusions:

  • Time and frequency domain HRV indexes are stable over a 2-week period in stable CHF patients.
  • These HRV measures are reliable for assessing autonomic function in this population.
  • HRV stability supports its use in longitudinal studies and clinical monitoring of CHF.

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