title: Relation of heart rate variability to serum levels of C-reactive protein in patients with unstable angina pectoris.
abstract: Heart rate variability (HRV) and systemic markers of inflammation have prognostic value in patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP). However, it is unknown whether any relation exists between HRV parameters and indexes of inflammation in this clinical context. We assessed HRV on 24-hour electrocardiographic Holter recordings, performed within 24 hours of admission, and measured C-reactive protein (CRP) serum levels by a high-sensitivity assay on admission, in 531 patients with UAP (65+/-10 years of age; 347 men) who were enrolled in the prospective multicenter study Stratificazione Prognostica dell'Angina Instabile (SPAI). A significant inverse correlation was found between CRP levels and all HRV parameters, with the highest r coefficient shown with SD of all RR intervals (r= -0.23; p<0.001) in the time domain and with very low-frequency amplitude (r= -0.22; p<0.001) in the frequency domain. When patients were categorized into 4 groups according to CRP quartile levels, statistically significant lower HRV values were observed in the upper CRP quartile. On separate multiple regression analyses, including the most important clinical and laboratory variables, SD of all RR intervals and very low-frequency amplitude were the most significant predictors of increasing CRP levels (p<0.001 for the 2 comparisons). In contrast, in models with SD of all RR intervals and very low-frequency amplitude as dependent variables, CRP was a strong predictor of impaired cardiac autonomic function (p<0.001 for the 2 comparisons). Thus, our data show that, in patients with UAP, high levels of serum CRP levels are significantly associated with decreased HRV, suggesting a possible pathophysiologic link between cardiac autonomic dysfunction and inflammatory activity.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Cardiologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy. g.a.lanza@inwind.it
authors.forename: Gaetano A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Lanza
authors.forename: Gregory Angelo
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Sgueglia
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cianflone
authors.forename: Antonio G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Rebuzzi
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Angeloni
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sestito
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Infusino
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Crea
authors.forename: Attilio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maseri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000789:Angina, Unstable / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D019210:Troponin I / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019210:Troponin I; D002097:C-Reactive Protein