Nocturnal heart rate variability: A population-based screening tool?

It has been known for a long time that important information is contained within the variability of human heartbeat intervals. However, in her groundbreaking work in 1981, Solange Akselrod was the first to show that essential regulatory processes of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems as well as the renin-angiotensin system are mirrored by periodic modulations of heart rate in specific frequency ranges. 1 Akselrod S. Gordon D. Ubel F.A. Shannon D.C. Berger A.C. Cohen R.J. Power spectrum analysis of heart rate fluctuation: a quantitative probe of beat-to-beat cardiovascular control. Science. 1981; 213: 220-222 Crossref PubMed Scopus (4144) Google Scholar This and other work laid the foundation for the use of heart rate variability (HRV) as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for a variety of cardiac and noncardiac conditions. In the last 40 years, starting from the traditional HRV markers in the time and frequency domains, substantial advances have been made to better characterize the complex phenomenon of HRV in various clinical settings. 2 Sassi R. Cerutti S. Lombardi F. et al. Advances in heart rate variability signal analysis: joint position statement by the e-Cardiology ESC Working Group and the European Heart Rhythm Association co-endorsed by the Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society. Europace. 2015; 17: 1341-1353 Crossref PubMed Scopus (425) Google Scholar To date, more than 50,000 papers on HRV have been listed in PubMed. However, this impressive amount of scientific work should not hide the fact that HRV has not yet found its way into clinical practice. Association between nocturnal heart rate variability and incident cardiovascular disease events: The HypnoLaus population-based studyHeart RhythmVol. 19Issue 4PreviewAlthough heart rate variability (HRV) is widely used to assess cardiac autonomic function, few studies have specifically investigated nocturnal HRV. Full-Text PDF