Screening Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children with Snoring.

Efficient screening for severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is important for children with snoring before time-consuming standard polysomnography. This retrospective cross-sectional study aimed to compare clinical variables, home snoring sound analysis, and home sleep pulse oximetry on their predictive performance in screening severe OSA among children who habitually snored. Study 1 included 9 (23%) girls and 30 (77%) boys (median age of 9 years).

The Impact of Estrogen Supplementation to Autonomic and Sleep Modulations in Free-Moving Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

Sleep and estrogen levels have an impact on neural regulation and are associated with cardiovascular (CV) events. We investigated the effects of estrogen on heart rate variability (HRV) and circadian cycle in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Polysomnographic recording was performed in seven male and seven female SHRs during sleep.

Exercise Prevents Hypertension and Disrupts the Correlation Between Vascular Sympathetic Activity and Age-Related Increase in Blood Pressure in SHRs.

Background: Hypertension usually accompanies the elevated sympathetic activity and sleep interruption. Few researches explored the dynamic changes and possible correlations in cardiovascular functions and sleep patterns during the development of hypertension. In contrast, exercise training provides several benefits on cardiovascular and sleep function in hypertensive subjects.

Reduced capacity of autonomic and baroreflex control associated with sleep pattern in spontaneously hypertensive rats with a nondipping profile.

Objective: Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring with a lack of nocturnal BP fall (BP nondipping) has been reported to be more prevalent among hypertensive populations and is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease than in patients with dipping pattern. However, its underlying mechanism is not fully understood. This study hypothesized that spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) with a nondipping profile have an exaggerated disruption of both autonomic functioning and sleep compared with Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKYs) with a nondipping profile.

Pleiotropic Effects of Myocardial MMP-9 Inhibition to Prevent Ventricular Arrhythmia.

Observational studies have established a strong association between matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and ventricular arrhythmia. However, whether MMP-9 has a causal link to ventricular arrhythmia, as well as the underlying mechanism, remains unclear. Here, we investigated the mechanistic involvement of myocardial MMP-9 in the pathophysiology of ventricular arrhythmia.

Correlation between health-related quality of life in the physical domain and heart rate variability in asymptomatic adults.

Background: Reduced health-related quality of life in the physical domain (HRQOL) has been reported to increase risks for cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, the mechanism underlying this phenomenon is still unclear. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) that connects the body and mind is a biologically plausible candidate to investigate this mechanism. The aim of our study is to examine whether the HRQOL independently contributes to heart rate variability (HRV), which reflects ANS activity.

Sleep-related changes in cardiovascular autonomic regulation in left coronary artery ligation rats: Neural mechanism facilitating arrhythmia after myocardial infarction.

Background: Autonomic imbalance with increased sympathetic and decreased parasympathetic activities is observed in patients after myocardial infarction (MI). We aimed to investigate sleep-related changed in autonomic regulation in left coronary artery (LCA) ligation rats.

Methods: Wireless transmission of polysomnographic recording was performed in sham and LCA ligation male rats during normal daytime sleep with and without atenolol treatment.

Aged rats show dominant modulation of lower frequency hippocampal theta rhythm during running.

Aging causes considerable decline in both physiological and mental functions, particularly cognitive function. The hippocampal theta rhythm (4-12Hz) is related to both cognition and locomotion. Aging-related findings of the frequency and amplitude of hippocampal theta oscillations are inconsistent and occasionally contradictory.

Linking an Anxiety-Related Personality Trait to Cardiac Autonomic Regulation in Well-Defined Healthy Adults: Harm Avoidance and Resting Heart Rate Variability.

Objective: Anxiety trait, anxiety and depression states have all been reported to increase risks for cardiovascular disease (CVD), possibly through altering cardiac autonomic regulation. Our aim was to investigate whether the relationship between harm avoidance (HA, an anxiety-related personality trait) and cardiac autonomic regulation is independent of anxiety and depression states in healthy adults.

Methods: We recruited 535 physically and mentally healthy volunteers.

Reduced cardiac autonomic response to deep breathing: A heritable vulnerability trait in patients with schizophrenia and their healthy first-degree relatives.

Reduced resting heart rate variability (HRV) has been observed in patients with schizophrenia and their relatives, suggesting genetic predispositions. However, findings have not been consistent. We assessed cardiac autonomic response to deep breathing in first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia (n=45; 26 female; aged 39.

Measures of Heart Rate Variability in Individuals With Somatic Symptom Disorder.

Objective: Little is known about autonomic nervous system activity in individuals with somatic symptom disorder (SSD) as defined by DSM-V criteria. The aims of this study were to investigate whether individuals with SSD differ from healthy controls in heart rate variability (HRV) measures of autonomic nervous system activity and whether sex has a moderating effect on this association.

Methods: We recruited 168 individuals with SSD (35.

The application of yin-yang concept on heart rate variability patterns in menopausal women with insomnia.

Objective: To develop heart rate variability (HRV) patterns for peri- and postmenopausal insomnia (PI) by the yin/yang concept of Chinese medicine (CM).

Methods: Seventy-four peri- and postmenopausal women (average age 56.6±1.

Novel application of multi dynamic trend analysis as a sensitive tool for detecting the effects of aging and congestive heart failure on heart rate variability.

The complex fluctuations in heart rate variability (HRV) reflect cardiac autonomic modulation and are an indicator of congestive heart failure (CHF). This paper proposes a novel nonlinear approach to HRV investigation, the multi dynamic trend analysis (MDTA) method, based on the empirical mode decomposition algorithm of the Hilbert-Huang transform combined with a variable-sized sliding-window method. Electrocardiographic signal data obtained from the PhysioNet database were used.

Cold Exposure Can Induce an Exaggerated Early-Morning Blood Pressure Surge in Young Prehypertensives.

Prehypertension is related to a higher risk of cardiovascular events than normotension. Our previous study reported that cold exposure elevates the amplitude of the morning blood pressure surge (MBPS) and is associated with a sympathetic increase during the final sleep transition, which might be critical for sleep-related cardiovascular events in normotensives. However, few studies have explored the effects of cold exposure on autonomic function during sleep transitions and changes of autonomic function among prehypertensives.

The relationships between heart rate deceleration capacity and spectral indices of heart rate variability during different breathing frequencies.

Purpose: The frequency of breathing influences the spectral powers of heart rate variability (HRV) as well as the magnitudes of heart rate deceleration capacity (DC) and acceleration capacity (AC). We compared the strength of their relationships under different breathing frequencies.

Methods: We studied 14 healthy young adults who breathed spontaneously and controlled their breathing rates to 0.

EEG beta power and heart rate variability describe the association between cortical and autonomic arousals across sleep.

Cortical and autonomic arousals have been found to be closely associated. As arousal events are not evenly dispersed across sleep, we hypothesized the relationship between high frequency electroencephalogram (EEG) power and autonomic arousal indices differ between non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. One night of polysomnographic recording was performed on a group of 18 subjects using a portable recorder.

The association between prolonged sleep onset latency and heart rate dynamics among young sleep-onset insomniacs and good sleepers.

A blunting of heart rate (HR) reduction during sleep has been reported to be associated with increased all-cause mortality. An increased incident of cardiovascular events has been observed in patients with insomnia but the relationship between nighttime HR and insomnia remains unclear. Here we investigated the HR patterns during the sleep onset period and its association with the length of sleep onset latency (SOL).

Sympathetic Hyperactivity, Sleep Fragmentation, and Wake-Related Blood Pressure Surge During Late-Light Sleep in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

Background: Many cardiovascular disease events occur before morning awaking and are more severe in hypertensive patients. Sleep-related cardiovascular regulation has been suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis. In this study, we explored whether such impairments are exaggerated during late sleep (before the active phase) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs).

Heart rate variability in major depressive disorder and after antidepressant treatment with agomelatine and paroxetine: Findings from the Taiwan Study of Depression and Anxiety (TAISDA).

Evidence from previous studies suggests that heart rate variability (HRV) is reduced in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, whether this reduction is attributable to the disorder per se or to medication, since antidepressants may also affect HRV, is still debated. There is a dearth of information regarding the effects of agomelatine, a novel antidepressant, on HRV.

Is Heart Rate Variability Related to Season of Birth?

Background: Season of birth (SOB) has been found to be related to cardiovascular mortality, but the mechanisms are unclear. It is suggested that birth in winter is a protective factor for the circulatory system, and this should be able to be observed using heart rate variability (HRV) measurements. The phenomenon may have a sex difference and is likely to be modulated by climatic factors.

Effects of breathing frequency on the heart rate deceleration capacity and heart rate acceleration capacity.

Purpose: The deceleration capacity (DC) and acceleration capacity (AC) of heart rate as well as the respiratory rate predict outcome after acute myocardial infarction. We evaluated the relation between breathing frequency and both DC and AC, as well as the difference between them.

Methods: We studied fourteen healthy young adults who breathed spontaneously and controlled their breathing to rates of 0.

Managing mass events and competitions with difficult-to-access locations using mobile electrocardiac monitoring.

Objective: Using mobile wireless technology to monitor ECG in participants of mass events and sports taking place in difficult-to-access location could both prevent and easier detect arrhythmias as well as provide real-time monitoring for any type of injury. We assessed the effectiveness of mobile wireless monitoring technology and IT in detecting possible emergencies during a skyscraper race.

Methods: We attached specially designed wireless surveillance biopatches on 120 individuals participating to monitor their continuous ECG and location during a skyscraper run-up race at Taipei 101 building, Taiwan.

Time distortion associated with smartphone addiction: Identifying smartphone addiction via a mobile application (App).

Background: Global smartphone penetration has brought about unprecedented addictive behaviors.

Aims: We report a proposed diagnostic criteria and the designing of a mobile application (App) to identify smartphone addiction.

Method: We used a novel empirical mode decomposition (EMD) to delineate the trend in smartphone use over one month.

Distinguishing bipolar II depression from unipolar major depressive disorder: Differences in heart rate variability.

Objectives: Bipolar II (BPII) depression is commonly misdiagnosed as unipolar depression (UD); however, an objective and reliable tool to differentiate between these disorders is lacking. Whether cardiac autonomic function can be used as a biomarker to distinguish BPII from UD is unknown.

Methods: We recruited 116 and 591 physically healthy patients with BPII depression and UD, respectively, and 421 healthy volunteers aged 20-65 years.