title: [Modification of the sympatho-vagal interaction in mitral valve prolapse syndrome. Evaluation of heart rate variability by spectrum analysis].
abstract: To determine whether clinical manifestations in patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) are associated with altered sympatho-vagal tone, 46 patients (mean age 27 +/- 6, range 20-45 years; 18 males and 28 females) were studied by power spectrum analysis of RR variability. Patients were divided in 2 groups, according to echocardiographic criteria: Group A: 11 patients with classical MVP; Group B: 35 patients with non classical MVP. These patients were compared with 30 healthy subjects (Group C) well matched for age, body surface area and heart rate. Our findings indicate that at rest there is a significant difference in the high-frequency component between Group A and Group C. Similarly, during the increase in sympathetic activity induced by 70 degrees head-up tilt all groups showed an increase in the low-frequency component, that was more evident in Group A. The data generated from our laboratory suggest that mitral regurgitation (Group A) is a probable cause of vagal tone increase and that there is an adaptive long-term mechanism towards sympathetic conditions. In addition, probably the normalization, demonstrable by the effect of sympathetic activity in tilt, can mask a dysfunction that may be differently evoked.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Università degli Studi La Sapienza, Roma.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Strano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Castro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferrucci
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mazzei
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Urani
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giannantoni
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marcheselli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Massimo Ciavarella
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calcagnini
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cerutti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008945:Mitral Valve Prolapse / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology
vernacular_title: Modificazioni del tono neurovegetativo nella sindrome del prolasso valvolare mitralico. Studio della variabilità della frequenza cardiaca mediante analisi spettrale.