Continuous autonomic assessment in patients with symptomatic heart failure: prognostic value of heart rate variability measured by an implanted cardiac resynchronization device.
BACKGROUND
Heart rate variability (HRV) as an indirect autonomic assessment provides prognostic information when measured over short time periods in patients with heart failure. Long-term continuous HRV can be measured from an implantable device, but the clinical value of these measurements is unknown.


RESULTS
A total of 397 patients with New York Heart Association class III or IV heart failure were studied. Of these, 370 patients had information from their implanted cardiac resynchronization device for mortality risk stratification, and 288 patients had information for measured parameters (ie, HRV, night heart rate, and patient activity) and clinical event analyses. Continuous HRV was measured as the standard deviation of 5-minute median atrial-atrial intervals (SDAAM) sensed by the device. SDAAM <50 ms when averaged over 4 weeks was associated with increased mortality risk (hazard ratio 3.20, P=0.02) and SDAAM were persistently lower over the entire follow-up period in patients who required hospitalization or died. SDAAM decreased a median of 16 days before hospitalization and returned to baseline after treatment. Automated detection of decreases in SDAAM was 70% sensitive in detecting cardiovascular hospitalization, with 2.4 false-positives per patient-year of follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that SDAAM continuously measured from an implanted cardiac resynchronization device is lower in patients at high mortality and hospitalization risk. SDAAM declines as patient status decompensates. Continuous long-term SDAAM may be a useful tool in the clinical management of patients with chronic heart failure.
Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Physiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 920 SL Young Blvd, WP3120, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA. Philip-adamson@ouhsc.edu
Philip B
PB
Adamson
Andrew L
AL
Smith
William T
WT
Abraham
Karen J
KJ
Kleckner
Robert W
RW
Stadler
Alex
A
Shih
Melissa M
MM
Rhodes
D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D009043:Motor Activity; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016019:Survival Analysis