Decreased heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with increased mortality risk in various diseases. Theobjective of this investigation:to study HRV in patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and to assess the effect of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) on HRV in these patients.Materials and methods. HRV registration and Doppler echocardiographic assessment of systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) was carried out in 61 stable patients with SCA and 24 healthy subjects.Results. Low frequency power (LFP) and high frequency power (HFP) were decreased in SCA patients compared to healthy subjects. Among SCA patients, PAH patients had lower LFP and HFP than patients without PAH. In SCA patients, systolic PAP showed significant negative correlation with LFP and HFP. Conclusion.HRV is significantly decreased in SCA patients, especially in those with PAH. HRV may be particularly useful in early detection of PAH patients who may have worse prognosis and higher mortality risk.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.