Effect of age on mean heart rate and heart rate variability

Introduction Autonomic dysfunction has been reported as one of non-motor manifestations of both pre-symptomatic and manifest Huntington’s Disease (HD). The aim of our study was to evaluate heart rate variability (HRV) during wake and sleep in a cohort of patients with manifest HD. Methods Thirty consecutive patients with manifest HD were enrolled, 14 men and 16 women, mean age 57.3±12.2 years. All patients underwent full-night attended video-polysomnography. HRV was analyzed during wake, NREM and REM sleep, in time and frequency domain. Results were compared with a control group of healthy volunteers matched for age and sex. Results During wake HD patients presented significantly higher mean heart rate than controls (72.4±9.6 vs 58.1±7.3 bpm; p<0.001). During NREM sleep, HD patients showed higher mean heart rate (65.6±11.1 vs 48.8±4.6 bpm; p<0.001) and greater Low Frequency (LF) component of HRV (52.9±22.6 vs 35.5±17.3 n.u.; p=0.004). During REM sleep, we observed lower standard deviation of the R-R interval (SDNN) in HD subjects (3.4±2.2 vs 3.7±1.3 ms; p=0.015). Conclusion Our results showed that HD patients have higher heart rate than controls, during wake and NREM, but not during REM sleep. Among HRV variability parameters, the most relevant difference regarded the LF component, which reflects, at least partially, the ortho-sympathetic output. Our results confirm the involvement of autonomic nervous system in HD and demonstrate that it is evident during both wake and sleep.

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Effects of Different Stroking Styles on Behaviour and Cardiac Parameters in Heifers

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10030426 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 426 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Annika Lange ◽

Sandra Franzmayr ◽

Vera Wisenöcker ◽

Andreas Futschik ◽

Susanne Waiblinger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Positive Emotions ◽

Affective States ◽

Positive Perception ◽

Human Interactions ◽

Body Regions ◽

Human Animal ◽

Mean Heart Rate

Gentle animal–human interactions, such as stroking, can promote positive emotions and thus welfare in cattle. While previous studies showed that stroking at the ventral neck elicited the most positive reactions in cows, intra-specific allogrooming in cattle includes different body regions and is probably guided partly by the receiver. Thus, we compared heifers’ (n = 28) reactions to stroking with the experimenter either reactively responding to perceived momentary preferences of the heifers or exclusively stroking the ventral neck. Independently of the stroking style, longer durations of neck stretching and contact occurred during stroking, supporting our hypothesis of a positive perception of stroking. We did not confirm the predicted decrease in heart rate and increase in heart rate variability, but instead found a slightly increased mean heart rate during stroking. The different stroking styles elicited differences in the heifers’ ear positions: “reactive” stroking led to longer durations of low ear positions during stroking, while during “ventral neck” stroking, the duration of back up increased. However, no other behaviours differed significantly between different stroking styles, indicating that the exact manner of stroking applied in our treatments seemed to be less important in the promotion of positive affective states in cattle through gentle human–animal interactions.

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A Hybrid Signal Processing of RR Intervals from QTc Variation Searching Arrhythmia and Improving Heart Rate Variability Assessment in Acute Large Artery Ischemic Stroke

Journal of Medical Engineering ◽

10.1155/2016/9823026 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

S. Rangsungnoen ◽

P. Chanbenjapipu ◽

N. Mathuradavong ◽

K. Suwanprasert

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Signal Processing ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Acute Stroke ◽

Sample Entropy ◽

Scaling Exponent ◽

Large Artery ◽

Qrs Detection ◽

Poincaré Plot ◽

Mean Heart Rate

Sudden death caused by abnormal QTc and atrial fibrillation (AF) has been reported in stroke. Heart rate variability (HRV) is reduced with missing beats of RRI during arrhythmic episode and abnormal QTc variation during acute stroke. In this study, we develop a hybrid signal processing by Pan Tompkins QRS detection and Kalman filter estimator for meaningful missing beats and searching AF with prolonged QTc. We use this hybrid model to investigate RRIs of Lead II ECG in thirty acute stroke patients with long QTc and AF (LQTc-AF) and normal QTc without AF (NQTc-nonAF) and then assess them by HRV. In LQTc-AF Kalman, higher mean heart rate with lower mean RRIs compared to NQTc-nonAF Kalman was characterized. LQTc-AF Kalman showed significant increase in SDNN, HF, SD2, SD2/SD1, and sample entropy. SDNN and HF associated with high RMSSD, pNN50, and SD1 reflect predominant parasympathetic drive for sympathovagal balance in LQTc-AF Kalman. Greater SD2, SD2/SD1, and sample entropy indicate more scatter of Poincaré plot. Compared with conventional Labchart, fractal scaling exponent of α1 (DFA) is higher in LQTc-AF Kalman. Remarkable complexity with parasympathetic drive in LQTc-AF Kalman suggests an influence of missing beats during stroke.

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