Relationship between heart rate variability and echocardiography indices of cardiac function in healthy individuals.

Purpose: This study evaluated the relationship between HRV and echocardiography indices of cardiac function.

Methods: Healthy individuals (N = 30) aged 33 ± 10 years old, underwent short-term resting HRV assessment and transthoracic echocardiography with speckle tracking analysis. Time domain - (i.e. R-R interval, root mean square of successive RR interval difference (RMSSD), standard deviation of normal RR intervals (SDNN) and frequency domain-measures of HRV (i.e. high-frequency power (HF), low-frequency power (LF), high-frequency normalised (HFnorm) and low-frequency normalised (LFnorm)). Echocardiography indices of cardiac function included; Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left- and right-ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS, and RV GLS), left atrial strain: left atrial reservoir (LA), left atrial conduit (LA) and left atrial contraction (LA).

Results: The mean values for HRV time-domain measures were: R-R (991 ± 176 ms), SDNN (50.9 ± 21.5 ms), and RMSSD (46.8 ± 29.4 ms); and frequency-domain: LF (727 ± 606 ms), HF (415 ± 35 ms), LFnorm (56 ± 19.4) and HFnorm (36.5 ± 18.8). Mean values for indices of cardiac function were LVEF (59.9% ± 2.8%), LV-GLS (19.2% ± 1.4%), RV-GLS (21.7% ± 2.7%), LA (36.8% ± 6.99%), LA (26.2% ± 6.95%) and LA (12.3% ± 3.56%). There was a significant negative relationship between HF and LV-GLS (r = -0.47, p = 0.01) and RMSSD and LVEF (r = -0.39, p = 0.03) respectively.

Conclusion: Heart rate variability measures such as high frequency power and RMSSD are associated with left ventricle systolic function in healthy individuals.