Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive respiratory illness. Questionnaires such as modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale and COPD assessment test (CAT) are useful for COPD condition and life quality assessment. These questionnaires reflect how respiratory disorder affects daily life. Breathing and autonomic nervous system (ANS) usually regulate each other. Few studies discussed the ANS activity and daily life quality in patients with COPD. Therefore, this study aimed to find the relationship between daily life quality assessed by mMRC or CAT and ANS assessed by a novel method, instantaneous pulse rate variability (iPRV), a method indicating not only the ANS activity but also the peripheral response. The result showed that the change in mMRC and the change in low frequency power to high frequency power ratio, which usually represents the sympathetic activity in conventional heart rate variability analysis, had significant correlation (r = 0.63; p < 0.05). The change in CAT and the change in high frequency power (regulated by vagal nervous and respiratory system) or very high frequency power (new frequency band can be indicated in iPRV spectrum) had significant negative correlation (r = −0.64 and −0.55, respectively; p < 0.05 for both). This study showed the change in iPRV indices when the condition of COPD was improvement or exacerbation. This study presents a possible way to show how cardiovascular activity affects daily life quality in patients with COPD. Increase in LF or decrease in HF and VHF would cause poorer quality of daily life in patients with COPD. The result can also be a reference for patients with COPD to choose the breathing type to adjust rehabilitation and therapy program for ANS regulation to indicate or improve their daily life quality.
Highlights
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex disorder of lung tissue which leads to airflow limitation
This study showed the change in instantaneous pulse rate variability (iPRV) indices while the condition of COPD was improvement or exacerbation
high frequency (HF) and the novel index, very high frequency (VHF) calculated by iPRV, were related to the change of COPD assessment test (CAT), which assess the quality of daily life of patients with COPD
Summary
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex disorder of lung tissue which leads to airflow limitation. E ratio between FEV1 and FVC is usually lower than 70% in the patients with COPD [1, 2]. Questionnaires such as modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale and COPD assessment test (CAT) are useful for the COPD diagnosis [3, 4]. Medical Research Council dyspnea scale (MRC) was first described by Fletcher [5] to assess the breathlessness in patients with. Previous research showed the usefulness of MRC as a measure of disability in patients with COPD. According to Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), the result of mMRC or CAT and spirometry can help us separate the patients with COPD into different severity groups (GOLD A, GOLD B, GOLD C, and GOLD D)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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 callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
