Features of Heart Rate Variability in Male and Female Wistar Rats

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the heart rate variability (HRV) of awake male and female Wistar rats using a non-invasive technique of electrocardiosignal recording. We established significant differences in the value of HRV indicators in groups of animals differing in spectral parameters (total power of the spectrum (TP), high-(HF) and low-frequency (LF) components of the spectrum). The following HRV indicators were shown to be highly informative: statistical (SDNN — the standard deviation of the complete array of RR intervals, RMSSD — the square root of the standard deviations of successive RR intervals, CV — the coefficient of variation) and spectral (TP, HF, LF, VLF is a very low–frequency component of the HRV spectrum, LF/HF is the vagosympathetic interaction index, IC — centralization index). The data obtained should be taken into account when advancing the existing methodology for studying the pathogenetic mechanisms of HRV changes and determining the prognostic value of these HRV parameters.