title: Measurement of recovery from myocardial infarction using heart rate variability and psychological outcomes.
abstract: This pilot study was designed to describe heart rate variability (HRV), anxiety, anger, denial, and depression during the first 4 days and 6 months after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The sample was composed of 21 post-AMI males aged 40 to 83. State anxiety was elevated early. At 6 months it had significantly decreased. The nonpower measure of HRV, the Kleiger global standard deviation, was decreased to a mean score of 86 (SD = 29) msec during AMI and was 117 (SD = 30) msec at 6 months. Although there were no significant correlations between HRV, psychological response, age, and education, there were moderate correlations between HRV and state anger (r = .33), denial (r = .35), and education (r = .45). HRV, as measured by the power spectral density function of an autoregressive model, demonstrated an increased peak across the band of frequency associated with the high-frequency components of the parasympathetic system and a decreased peak across the band associated with the low-frequency components of the sympathetic system at 6 months as compared to the AMI period.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Program, Regis University, Denver, CO.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Buchanan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cowan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burr
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Waldron
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kogan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000786:Anger; D001007:Anxiety; D003717:Denial, Psychological; D003863:Depression; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013997:Time Factors