title: Comparing low frequency heart rate variability and preejection period: two sides of a different coin.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Annebet D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Goedhart
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Willemsen
authors.forename: Jan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Houtveen
authors.forename: Dorret I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Boomsma
authors.forename: Eco J C
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: De Geus
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult