Heart rate variability and target organ damage in hypertensive patients

Background We evaluated the association between linear standard Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures and vascular, renal and cardiac target organ damage (TOD). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed including 200 patients registered in the Regione Campania network (aged 62.4 ± 12, mal...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Melillo, Paolo, Izzo, Raffaele, De Luca, Nicola, Pecchia, Leandro
Format: Article
Published: BioMed Central 2012
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2311/
_version_ 1848790751859703808
author Melillo, Paolo
Izzo, Raffaele
De Luca, Nicola
Pecchia, Leandro
author_facet Melillo, Paolo
Izzo, Raffaele
De Luca, Nicola
Pecchia, Leandro
author_sort Melillo, Paolo
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Background We evaluated the association between linear standard Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures and vascular, renal and cardiac target organ damage (TOD). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed including 200 patients registered in the Regione Campania network (aged 62.4 ± 12, male 64%). HRV analysis was performed by 24-h holter ECG. Renal damage was assessed by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), vascular damage by carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and cardiac damage by left ventricular mass index. Results Significantly lower values of the ratio of low to high frequency power (LF/HF) were found in the patients with moderate or severe eGFR (p-value < 0.001). Similarly, depressed values of indexes of the overall autonomic modulation on heart were found in patients with plaque compared to those with a normal IMT (p-value <0.05). These associations remained significant after adjustment for other factors known to contribute to the development of target organ damage, such as age. Moreover, depressed LF/HF was found also in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy but this association was not significant after adjustment for other factors. Conclusions Depressed HRV appeared to be associated with vascular and renal TOD, suggesting the involvement of autonomic imbalance in the TOD. However, as the mechanisms by which abnormal autonomic balance may lead to TOD, and, particularly, to renal organ damage are not clearly known, further prospective studies with longitudinal design are needed to determine the association between HRV and the development of TOD.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T18:17:36Z
format Article
id nottingham-2311
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T18:17:36Z
publishDate 2012
publisher BioMed Central
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-23112024-08-15T15:13:57Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2311/ Heart rate variability and target organ damage in hypertensive patients Melillo, Paolo Izzo, Raffaele De Luca, Nicola Pecchia, Leandro Background We evaluated the association between linear standard Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures and vascular, renal and cardiac target organ damage (TOD). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed including 200 patients registered in the Regione Campania network (aged 62.4 ± 12, male 64%). HRV analysis was performed by 24-h holter ECG. Renal damage was assessed by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), vascular damage by carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and cardiac damage by left ventricular mass index. Results Significantly lower values of the ratio of low to high frequency power (LF/HF) were found in the patients with moderate or severe eGFR (p-value < 0.001). Similarly, depressed values of indexes of the overall autonomic modulation on heart were found in patients with plaque compared to those with a normal IMT (p-value <0.05). These associations remained significant after adjustment for other factors known to contribute to the development of target organ damage, such as age. Moreover, depressed LF/HF was found also in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy but this association was not significant after adjustment for other factors. Conclusions Depressed HRV appeared to be associated with vascular and renal TOD, suggesting the involvement of autonomic imbalance in the TOD. However, as the mechanisms by which abnormal autonomic balance may lead to TOD, and, particularly, to renal organ damage are not clearly known, further prospective studies with longitudinal design are needed to determine the association between HRV and the development of TOD. BioMed Central 2012-11-15 Article PeerReviewed Melillo, Paolo, Izzo, Raffaele, De Luca, Nicola and Pecchia, Leandro (2012) Heart rate variability and target organ damage in hypertensive patients. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 12 (Novemb). 11/1-11/11. ISSN 1471-2261 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2261/12/105 doi:10.1186/1471-2261-12-105 doi:10.1186/1471-2261-12-105
spellingShingle Melillo, Paolo
Izzo, Raffaele
De Luca, Nicola
Pecchia, Leandro
Heart rate variability and target organ damage in hypertensive patients
title Heart rate variability and target organ damage in hypertensive patients
title_full Heart rate variability and target organ damage in hypertensive patients
title_fullStr Heart rate variability and target organ damage in hypertensive patients
title_full_unstemmed Heart rate variability and target organ damage in hypertensive patients
title_short Heart rate variability and target organ damage in hypertensive patients
title_sort heart rate variability and target organ damage in hypertensive patients
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2311/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2311/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2311/