Comparing low frequency heart rate variability and preejection period: Two sides of a different coin

Authors: Goedhart, Annebet D.¹; Willemsen, G.¹; Houtveen, Jan H.²; Boomsma, Dorret I.¹; De Geus, Eco J. C.¹

Source: Psychophysiology, Volume 45, Number 6, November 2008 , pp. 1086-1090(5)

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Abstract:

It has been hypothesized that the ratio of heart rate variability in the low- (LF) and high- (HF) frequency bands may capture variation in cardiac sympathetic control. Here we tested the temporal stability of the LF/HF ratio in 24-h ambulatory recordings and compared this ratio to the preejection period (PEP), an established measure of cardiac sympathetic control. Good temporal stability was found across a period of 3.3 years (.46<r<.78), but the LF/HF ratio did not show the expected negative correlation to PEP, either between or within subjects. We conclude that the evidence to support the LF/HF ratio as a potential marker of cardiac sympathetic control in epidemiology-scaled research is currently insufficient.

Keywords: LF/HF ratio; PEP; Sympathetic; Ambulatory monitoring

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00710.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2: Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Publication date: 2008-11-01