The Relationship Between Heart Rate Variability and Epileptiform Activity Among Children—A Controlled Study

Abstract

Autonomic symptoms frequently occur during epileptic seizures. Attention has been mainly devoted to cardiovascular changes. We studied the relationship between heart rate variability (HRV) and epileptiform activity in children with epilepsy.Simultaneous electroencephalograms and electrocardiograms were recorded in 36 children diagnosed with epilepsy and in 36 children with unrelated conditions who served as a comparison group. Heart rate variability was evaluated by time-domain analysis, before, after, and during an epileptiform event, a benign abnormal event and baseline activity.An age-related change in the HRV associated with an epileptiform event was noted in the study group but not in the comparison group. No other significant differences in HRV were noted between the two groups or between true and benign abnormal events.Age seems to be a significant covariate in the analysis of HRV in children with epilepsy. Epileptiform activity is not associated with a significant change in HRV in children.

Effect of Temperature on Heart Rate Variability in Neonatal ICU Patients With Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

“…Decreased HRV may be attributable to direct subcortical or brainstem injury leading to autonomic dysfunction,(38) the effects of asphyxia on the cardiovascular system,(22) the presence of seizures, (39-41) or likely a combination of these and other factors. As studies move forward towards more large-scale validation of HRV as a bedside biomarker in HIE, understanding potential confounding factors that can influence HRV under different clinical circumstances is crucial.…”

Heart rate variability in infants with West syndrome

“…Individuals with the highest scores of total power and the lowest scores of HR were those with age ranging from 8 to 15 months. Age is known to influence HRV [18][19][20]. Massin et al [18] found a progressive maturation of the autonomic nervous system throughout childhood in 210 healthy children aged from 3 days to 14 years and Silvetti et al [19] investigated 103 healthy children and adolescents and found that parameters of HRV increased with age and gender.…”

Heart rate variability in encephalopathic newborns during and after therapeutic hypothermia

“…Seizure has been reported to have complex interaction with HRV depending on the location, propagation and duration of the ictal activity. 37–39 It is possible that the some of the alterations seen in HRV in the adverse outcome group may therefore be attributable to seizure activity, as the predominant seizure burden was observed in this group. However, given the aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the temporal evolution of HRV and its relation to outcome, elucidating the effect of seizures and other possible etiological factors that could explain why HRV relates to poor outcomes was beyond the scope of this study.…”