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. 2011 Jun;21(3):133-41.
doi: 10.1007/s10286-010-0098-y. Epub 2011 Jan 29.

Low frequency power of heart rate variability reflects baroreflex function, not cardiac sympathetic innervation

Faisal Rahman  1 , Sandra Pechnik, Daniel Gross, LaToya Sewell, David S Goldstein
Affiliations

Low frequency power of heart rate variability reflects baroreflex function, not cardiac sympathetic innervation

Faisal Rahman et al. Clin Auton Res. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Power spectral analysis of heart rate variability is used to assess cardiac autonomic function. The relationship of low frequency (LF) power to cardiac sympathetic tone has been unclear. We reported previously that LF power may reflect baroreflex modulation. In this study we attempted to replicate our findings in additional subject cohorts, taking into account possible influences of respiration and using different methods to measure baroreflex-cardiovagal gain (BCG).

Objective: We assessed relationships of LF power, including respiration-adjusted LF power (LFa), with cardiac sympathetic innervation and baroreflex function in subjects with or without neuroimaging evidence of cardiac sympathetic denervation.

Methods: Values for LF power at baseline supine, seated, and during the Valsalva maneuver were compared between subject groups with low or normal myocardial concentrations of 6-[(18)F]fluorodopamine-derived radioactivity. BCG was calculated from the slope of cardiac interbeat interval vs. systolic pressure during Phase II of the Valsalva maneuver or after i.v. nitroglycerine injection (the Oxford technique).

Results: LF and LFa were unrelated to myocardial 6-[(18)F]fluorodopamine-derived radioactivity. During sitting rest and the Valsalva maneuver logs of LF and LFa correlated positively with the log of Phase II BCG (r = 0.61, p = 0.0005; r = 0.47, p = 0.009; r = 0.69, p < 0.0001; r = 0.60, p = 0.0006). Groups with Low BCG (≤ 3 ms/mmHg) had low LF and LFa regardless of cardiac innervation. The log of LF power during supine rest correlated with the log of Oxford BCG (r = 0.74, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion: LF power, with or without respiratory adjustment, reflects baroreflex modulation and not cardiac sympathetic tone.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Individual values for (A) the log of respiration-adjusted low frequency power (Log LFa) and (B) the log of low frequency power without respiration adjustment (Log LF) as a function of septal myocardial 6-[18F]fluorodopamine-derived radioactivity
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Individual values for (A) the log of respiration-adjusted low frequency power (Log LFa) and (B) the log of low frequency power without respiration adjustment (Log LF) as a function of the log of baroreflex slope (Log BRS) in patients with neuroimaging evidence of cardiac sympathetic denervation (black squares) and in control subjects (open circles). Dashed line is the line of best fit from the linear regression equation
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Mean (±SEM) values for (A) the log of respiration-adjusted low frequency power (Log LFa) and (B) the log of low frequency power without respiration adjustment (Log LF) in subject groups with neuroimaging evidence of intact cardiac sympathetic innervation and normal baroreflex slope (Innerv Nl BRS), intact innervation and low baroreflex slope (Innerv Low BRS), and cardiac sympathetic denervation and low baroreflex slope (Denerv Low BRS). (*) significant group difference, p<0.05; (**) p<0.001
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
(A) Individual values for the log of respiration-adjusted low frequency power (Log LFa) during the Valsalva maneuver expressed as a function of the log of baroreflex slope (Log BRS); (B) Mean (±SEM) values for Log LFa during the Valsalva maneuver in subject groups with neuroimaging evidence of intact cardiac sympathetic innervation and normal baroreflex slope (Innerv Nl BRS), intact innervation and low baroreflex slope (Innerv Low BRS), and cardiac sympathetic denervation and low baroreflex slope (Denerv Low BRS). (*) significant group difference, p<0.05; (**) p<0.001
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