Evaluation of frequency domain parameters of heart rate variability in patients with essential hypertension

Abstract

Background: The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is crucial for controlling blood pressure and preventing the onset of hypertension. Analyzing heart rate variability (HRV) is a common diagnostic method for evaluating the actions of the ANS. The two domains under which HRV can be evaluated are the time domain method and the frequency domain approach. Aim and Objective: The primary objective of this study was to check the cardiovascular health and cardiac autonomic regulation of patients with essential hypertension by assessing frequency domain parameters of HRV. Materials and Methods: The study included 50 patients with essential hypertension in the age group of 35–55 years and 50 healthy individuals of the same age group were selected as controls. HRV assessment was done using standardized instruments and emWave Pro software. All the individuals went through 5 min HRV assessment in the supine position. The frequency domain parameters were checked for analysis of HRV. Results: Very low frequency, low frequency (LF), and high frequency (HF) were significantly lower in hypertensive patients as compared to healthy individuals. The mean value of the LF/HF ratio (2.01 ± 0.61) in hypertensive patients was significantly higher as compared to normal individuals (0.99 ± 0.17, P < 0.001). Total power was also significantly low in hypertensive individuals (457.40 ± 133.63 ms2) than healthy individuals (457.40 ± 133.63 ms2, P < 0.001). Conclusion: The study indicates that as compared to healthy individuals, in hypertensive patients low total power and high LF/HF ratio are seen which are suggestive of poor cardiovascular health and cardiac autonomic dysregulation in hypertensive individuals.