Unrecognised obstructive sleep apnoea is common in severe peripheral arterial disease.

Patients needing surgery for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) represent a severe form of atherosclerosis with an overall 5-yr mortality of 30% after revascularisation. The aetiology for poor post-operative clinical outcome in these high-risk patients is not fully established. Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with atherosclerosis and is an independent risk factor for fatal and nonfatal cardiac events.

Fractal scaling properties of heart rate dynamics and myocardial efficiency in dilated cardiomyopathy.

Introduction: Since altered heart rate (HR) fluctuations provide prognostic information in heart failure, we examined the associations between HR dynamics, myocardial efficiency and perfusion, among patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Methods: Sixteen patients with dilated cardiomyopathy were enrolled. Patients received supervised strength and aerobic training for 5 months (n = 9) or standard care (n = 7).

Ramipril Enhances Autonomic Control in Essential Hypertension: A Study Employing Spectral Analysis of Heart Rate Variation.

We estimated the effect of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, ramipril, on the sympathetic and parasympathetic input to the sinoatrial node of hypertensive patients using spectral and time domain analysis of heart rate variation (HRV). The heart rate of patients with essential hypertension was recorded during spontaneous breathing at rest and during controlled deep breathing. The periodic HRV was quantified at low-frequency (0.