Chronic vagus nerve stimulation is associated with multi-year improvement in intrinsic heart rate recovery and left ventricular ejection fraction in ANTHEM-HF.

Purpose: Disturbed autonomic function is implicated in high mortality rates in heart failure patients. High-intensity vagus nerve stimulation therapy was shown to improve intrinsic heart rate recovery and left ventricular ejection fraction over a period of 1 year. Whether these beneficial effects are sustained across multiple years and are related to improved baroreceptor response was unknown.

Novel method to assess intrinsic heart rate recovery in ambulatory ECG recordings tracks cardioprotective effects of chronic autonomic regulation therapy in patients enrolled in the ANTHEM-HF study.

Background: Postexercise heart rate recovery (HRR) is a powerful and independent predictor of mortality. Autonomic regulation therapy (ART) with chronic vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been shown to improve ventricular function in patients with chronic heart failure. However, the effect of ART on HRR in patients with heart failure remains unknown.