Association between autonomic regulation and cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged subjects
Year: 2007
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Heart rate variability (HRV) and barorefl ex sensitivity (BRS) can be used to examine non-invasively autonomic cardiovascular regulation.Although impairments in HRV and BRS are related to adverse outcomes in various populations, the factors that determine these autonomic markers are poorly understood.The present study applied time and frequency domain analyses of the R-R interval and arterial pressure variability (APV), and cross-spectral analysis of BRS, to examine the associations of these autonomic measures with life style, psychological factors, physical fi tness, pulse pressure, hypertension, and other cardiovascular risk factors.The beat-to-beat variability of pulse pressure and its associations with cardiovascular risk factors were also studied.The results show that HRV is reduced in untreated middle-aged hypertensive subjects.Higher heart rate, advancing age, higher blood pressure, female gender, and higher plasma renin activity are independent determinants of decreased HRV according to multivariate analyses combining hypertensive subjects and healthy controls.In a healthy middle-aged general population, psychological factors, particularly increased hostility and anxiety, and increased ambulatory pulse pressure are associated with reduced BRS and increased APV.Factors pertinent to the metabolic syndrome, such as higher levels of blood pressure, body fat percentage, insulin resistance, and serum triglycerides, are associated with decreased HRV and BRS and with increased APV.The exercise capacity had opposite associations with these parameters.Increased beat-to-beat variability of pulse pressure was related to several risk factors of arterial stiffening and to impaired BRS.Measures of autonomic cardiovascular regulation are modulated by a complex interplay of several factors, and may also refl ect non-autonomic effects, such as those related to arterial stiffening.
Author: Raine Virtanen
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Turun Yliopisto
OpenAlex ID: W2403439744