Abstract
Background: Since heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with average heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RespRate), alterations in these parameters may impose changes in HRV. Hence the repeatability of HRV measurements may be affected by differences in HR and RespRate. The study aimed to evaluate HRV repeatability and its association with changes in HR and RespRate.Methods: Forty healthy volunteers underwent two ECG examinations 7 days apart. Standard HRV indices were calculated from 5-min ECG recordings. The ECG-derived respiration signal was estimated to assess RespRate. To investigate HR impact on HRV, HRV parameters were corrected for prevailing HR.Results: Differences in HRV parameters between the measurements were associated with the changes in HR and RespRate. However, in multiple regression analysis only HR alteration proved to be independent determinant of the HRV differences—every change in HR by 1 bpm changed HRV values by 16.5% on average. After overall removal of HR impact on HRV, coefficients of variation of the HRV parameters significantly dropped on average by 26.8% (p < 0.001), i.e., by the same extent HRV reproducibility improved. Additionally, the HRV correction for HR decreased association between RespRate and HRV.Conclusions: In stable conditions, HR but not RespRate is the most powerful factor determining HRV reproducibility and even a minimal change of HR may considerably alter HRV. However, the removal of HR impact may significantly improve HRV repeatability. The association between HRV and RespRate seems to be, at least in part, HR dependent.
Highlights
The analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) has been widely used to non-invasively investigate the cardiac autonomic regulation in healthy subjects and patients with various diseases (Billman, 2011)
Sacha et al noticed that HR is a powerful factor of the HRV reproducibility, i.e., HRV corrected for HR turned out to be significantly more reproducible than the standard one (Sacha et al, 2013c)
There was no consistent difference between Test and Retest in HR (74.7 ± 11.9 vs. 73.6 ± 11.8, p = 0.49), RespRate (17.2 ± 3.4 vs. 17.0 ± 3.2, p = 0.52) and any standard HRV parameter (p ≥ 0.29 for all)
Summary
The analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) has been widely used to non-invasively investigate the cardiac autonomic regulation in healthy subjects and patients with various diseases (Billman, 2011). The authors of these studies did not consider an interaction between HRV and average heart rate (HR; Sacha, 2013, 2014a,b,c; Sacha et al, 2013a,b,c, 2014; Monfredi et al, 2014; Stauss, 2014; Billman et al, 2015) and its influence on the reproducibility of HRV analysis (Sacha et al, 2013c). It was suggested that an adequate correction designed to remove the HR influence on HRV should be performed before drawing ultimate conclusions about HRV corresponding to different HR (Sacha and Pluta, 2008; Sacha, 2013, 2014a; Sacha et al, 2013a; Monfredi et al, 2014; Stauss, 2014; Billman et al, 2015). The study aimed to evaluate HRV repeatability and its association with changes in HR and RespRate
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call