RT variability unrelated to heart period and respiration progressively increases during graded head-up tilt

Abstract

Porta A, Tobaldini E, Gnecchi-Ruscone T, Montano N. RT variability unrelated to heart period and respiration progressively increases during graded head-up tilt. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 298: H1406 -H1414, 2010. First published February 12, 2010 doi:10.1152/ajpheart.01206.2009.-Open-loop linear parametric models were exploited to describe ventricular repolarization duration (VRD) variability during graded head-up tilt. Surface ECG and thoracic movements were recorded in 15 healthy humans (age: 24 -54 yr, median: 28 yr; 6 women and 9 men). Tilt table inclinations ranged from 15 to 90°and were varied in steps of 15°. All subjects underwent recordings at every step in random order. Heart period was assessed as the time difference between two consecutive R-wave peaks (RR) and the respiratory signal (R) as the sampling of the thoracic movement signal at the R-wave peaks. VRD was measured automatically as the temporal difference between the R-wave peak and T-wave apex (RT a) or T-wave end (RTe). The best model decomposed RT variability as due to RR changes (RR-related RT variability) to direct respiratory-related inputs (R-related RT variability) and to unknown rhythmical sources unrelated to RR changes and R (RR-R-unrelated RT variability). Using this model, RTe variability was found to be less predictable than RTa variability and composed of a smaller fraction of RR-related RT variability and a larger fraction of RR-R-unrelated RT variability. Predictability progressively decreased with tilt table angles, suggesting increased complexity of RT regulation. RT variance progressively increased with tilt table inclination. This increase was characterized by a gradual rise of the amount of RR-R-unrelated RT variability, whereas the amount of RR-related RT variability remained unchanged. These results suggest that the amount of RT variability, complexity of RT dynamics, and amount of RR-Runrelated RT variability increase with the magnitude of the sympathetic drive directly related to tilt table inclination. We propose the utilization of the amount of RR-R-unrelated RT variability instead of overall RT variability as an indirect measure of autonomic regulation directed to ventricles. QT measurement; QT variability; QT-RR relationship; modelling; autonomic nervous system THERE IS INCREASING INTEREST in quantifying the amount of the beat-to-beat changes of ventricular repolarization duration (VRD), i.e., VRD variability (2,4,6,12,15,20,27,40). This interest is based on the original suggestion that VRD variability provides an indirect measure of the autonomic regulation directed to ventricles (7). VRD variability is usually computed from the surface ECG as the variability of the time interval between the Q-wave onset and T-wave end (QT interval) under the hypothesis that the variability of the ventricular depolarization period is negligible with respect to that of VRD. Since variability of the heart period, computed as the temporal difference between two consecutive R-wave peaks on the ECG (RR), provides indexes of the ...

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