The Relationship Between Spectral Changes in Heart Rate Variability and Fatigue

Fatigue is a prevalent problem in the workplace and a common symptom of many diseases. However, its relationship with the autonomic nervous system, specifically with sympathetic arousal, needs clarification. The objective of this study was to determine the association between fatigue and heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is regarded as an indicator of the autonomic regulation activity of heart rate, specifically sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. Spectral changes in low-frequency (LF; 0.04–0.15 Hz) and high-frequency (HF; 0.15–0.4 Hz) components of HRV have been reported to be associated with distressing conditions such as hemorrhagic shock, acute myocardial infarction, elevated anxiety, and depressed mood. While HRV changes have been found in persons with chronic fatigue syndrome, its association with fatigue in healthy individuals still needs clarification. HRV was assessed in a total of 50 participants who were asked to perform a task until becoming fatigued. Low-frequency HRV activity increased, while indices of parasympathetic modulation such as RMSSD and pNN50 remained stable as participants experienced fatigue, suggesting that fatigue in healthy individuals may be associated with increased sympathetic arousal. In addition, employing multiple regression analyses, we could positively associate the change in LF/HF HRV ratio from baseline to fatigue with factors such as emotional stability, warmth and tension and negatively associate it with social boldness and self-reported levels of vigor.

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Reduced heart rate variability predicts fatigue severity in individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis

Journal of Translational Medicine ◽

10.1186/s12967-019-02184-z ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Rosa María Escorihuela ◽

Lluís Capdevila ◽

Juan Ramos Castro ◽

María Cleofé Zaragozà ◽

Sara Maurel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ◽

Frequency Domain ◽

Chronic Fatigue ◽

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Fatigue Syndrome ◽

Potential Biomarker ◽

Fatigue Severity

Abstract Background Heart rate variability (HRV) is an objective, non-invasive tool to assessing autonomic dysfunction in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). People with CFS/ME tend to have lower HRV; however, in the literature there are only a few previous studies (most of them inconclusive) on their association with illness-related complaints. To address this issue, we assessed the value of different diurnal HRV parameters as potential biomarker in CFS/ME and also investigated the relationship between these HRV indices and self-reported symptoms in individuals with CFS/ME. Methods In this case–control study, 45 female patients who met the 1994 CDC/Fukuda definition for CFS/ME and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy controls underwent HRV recording-resting state tests. The intervals between consecutive heartbeats (RR) were continuously recorded over three 5-min periods. Time- and frequency-domain analyses were applied to estimate HRV variables. Demographic and clinical features, and self-reported symptom measures were also recorded. Results CFS/ME patients showed significantly higher scores in all symptom questionnaires (p < 0.001), decreased RR intervals (p < 0.01), and decreased HRV time- and frequency-domain parameters (p < 0.005), except for the LF/HF ratio than in the healthy controls. Overall, the correlation analysis reached significant associations between the questionnaires scores and HRV time- and frequency-domain measurements (p < 0.05). Furthermore, separate linear regression analyses showed significant relationships between self-reported fatigue symptoms and mean RR (p = 0.005), RMSSD (p = 0.0268) and HFnu indices (p = 0.0067) in CFS/ME patients, but not in healthy controls. Conclusions Our findings suggest that ANS dysfunction presenting as increased sympathetic hyperactivity may contribute to fatigue severity in individuals with ME/CFS. Further studies comparing short- and long-term HRV recording and self-reported outcome measures with previous studies in larger CFS/ME cohorts are urgently warranted.

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Correction: MRI-related anxiety in healthy individuals, intrinsic BOLD oscillations at 0.1 Hz in precentral gyrus and insula, and heart rate variability in low frequency bands

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0216731 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. e0216731

Author(s):

Gert Pfurtscheller ◽

Andreas Schwerdtfeger ◽

David Fink ◽

Clemens Brunner ◽

Christoph Stefan Aigner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Precentral Gyrus ◽

Healthy Individuals ◽

Frequency Bands

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Potential bias in research of heart rate variability in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome

Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism ◽

10.1016/j.semarthrit.2013.09.002 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 43 (5) ◽

pp. e1 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lineke M. Tak ◽

Judith G.M. Rosmalen

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ◽

Chronic Fatigue ◽

Potential Bias ◽

Fatigue Syndrome

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Heart rate variability biofeedback therapy and graded exercise training in management of chronic fatigue syndrome: An exploratory pilot study

Journal of Psychosomatic Research ◽

10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.11.014 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 93 ◽

pp. 6-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Petra Windthorst ◽

Nazar Mazurak ◽

Marvin Kuske ◽

Arno Hipp ◽

Katrin E. Giel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Chronic Fatigue ◽

Biofeedback Therapy ◽

Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback ◽

Fatigue Syndrome ◽

Graded Exercise

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FREQUENCY ANALYSIS OF CARDIAC DATA OBTAINED THROUGH HOLTER MONITORING IN REAL LIVING CONDITIONS

CBU International Conference Proceedings ◽

10.12955/cbup.v7.1498 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 870-874

Author(s):

Galya Nikolova Georgieva-Tsaneva

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

High Frequency ◽

Scientific Literature ◽

Real Life ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Holter Monitoring ◽

Heart Rate Variability Analysis ◽

Healthy Individuals ◽

Spectral Parameters

The paper presents frequency methods for estimating the variability of intervals between individual heart beats in Electrocardiogram. This parameter is known in the scientific literature as the Heart Rate Variability and with this method it is possible to make predictions about human health. Three frequency ranges have been studied: Very Low Frequency, Low Frequency, and High Frequency. The study in this paper was based on real cardiological data obtained from 33 patients suffering from heart fibrillations and 29 healthy individuals. The investigated records are obtained through a Holter monitoring of studied individuals in real life conditions. The obtained results show significantly lower values of the tested spectral parameters in the diseased individuals compared to the healthy controls. The accomplished study shows the effective applicability of the spectral methods of Heart Rate Variability analysis and the possibility of differentiation by the spectral parameters of the patients from healthy individuals.

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