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.
Published: 2008
Comparing low frequency heart rate variability and preejection period: Two sides of a different coin
Annebet D. Goedhart, G. Willemsen, Jan H. Houtveen, Dorret I. Boomsma, Eco J. C. De Geus
Ambulatory monitoring, LF/HF ratio, PEP, Sympathetic
- Item Type: journalArticle
- Publication Title: Psychophysiology
- Volume: 45
- Pages: 1086-1090
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- DOI: /10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00710.x
- ISSN: 1469-8986
- Short Title: Comparing low frequency heart rate variability and preejection period
- Library Catalog: Wiley Online Library