Heart rate differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic Brugada syndrome patients at night

Abstract

Objective: Ventricular arrhythmias in Brugada syndrome (BS) mainly occur at rest, especially during nighttime, suggesting that parasympathetic activity at night may play an important role in the arrhythmogenesis of the disease. This study examined and compared the autonomic function of symptomatic and asymptomatic BS patients overnight. Approach: We analyzed various heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate complexity (HRC) markers in a clinical series including 87 BS patients, where 23 were symptomatic. Main results: Statistically significant differences were found in markers MIRR, SDNN, SDANN, and SampEn, suggesting that symptomatic patients may be related to lower heart rate variability and complexity values, as well as to greater circadian fluctuations overnight. Significance: The results provide further evidence for the role of autonomic imbalance in the pathophysiology of BS, highlighting the relevance of nighttime analysis to the unmasking of significant ANS changes. Based on these outcomes, the role of HRV and HRC assessment at night could be a step forward towards the understanding of BS and the risk for the occurrence of symptoms in these patients, with a potential future impact on therapeutic strategies.