Circadian Profiles of Heart Rate and its Instantaneous Variability in Patients With Chronic Chagas' Disease

• Published in: Revista española de cardiologia 2004-02, Vol.57 (2), p.130-137
• Main Authors: Octavio, José A., Rodríguez, Ana E., Misticchio, Francesca, Marcano, Alfredo, Jiménez, Juan, Moleiro, Federico
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; spa
• Subjects: Autonomous nervous system; Chagas Disease - physiopathology; Chagas' disease; Chronic Disease; Circadian profiles; Circadian Rhythm; Enfermedad de Chagas; Female; Frecuencia cardíaca; Heart Rate; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Monitoring, Physiologic; Perfil circadiano; Sistema nervioso autónomo; Time Factors
• ISSN: 1885-5857; 0300-8932; 1885-5857
• DOI: 10.1016/S1885-5857(06)60101-1

Impairment of the auto-nomic nervous system in early stages of Chagas' disease is still a matter of debate, although multiple approaches (including heart rate response to orthostatism and the Valsalva maneuver, and spontaneous variability) have been used to ascertain its occurrence. The circadian profile of heart rate and its variability have not been investigated in patients with Chagas' disease. We analyzed the 24-hour heart rate by Holter recordings in 63 patients with and without ECG alterations, who had positive serological findings for Chagas' disease. These results were compared with those in 22 healthy subjects matched for sex and age. Mean 24-hour heart rate and its circadian amplitude were analyzed with Cusum analysis and nocturnal dip. In a subgroup of 45 subjects (30 with Chagas' disease and 15 healthy controls), heart rate instantaneous variability (24-hour pNN50 and r-MSSD) and circadian amplitude were also calculated by Cusum analysis. 24-hour and diurnal heart rates were lower in patients with Chagas' disease than in healthy subjects ( P