A comprehensive study of autonomic dysfunction in the fibromyalgia patients.
OBJECTIVE
The hypothesis of autonomic nervous system involvement in pathophysiology in the patients with fibromyalgia has been addressed and tested time and again but the existing reports are both contradictory and inconclusive. A complete knowledge of the degree of autonomic dysfunction in fibromyalgia patients would be more substantial. We conducted a comprehensive non-invasive study to investigate the complete autonomic profile of female patients with fibromyalgia.


METHODS
An autonomic function test using a standard battery and heart rate variability analysis in the 42 fibromyalgia patients as well as 42 age matched healthy controls was performed. Both autonomic activity (tone) and reactivity were measured. Autonomic tone (both time and frequency domain parameters) was measured using heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. Autonomic reactivity was measured using a standard battery of autonomic function tests.


RESULTS
Resting blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic) was significantly higher in the fibromyalgia patients than controls. The time domain variables and HF% as recorded by HRV were significantly lower in the patients than the controls. The autonomic reactivity for sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system was found to be within normal limits.


CONCLUSIONS
The cardiac autonomic function is normal and the autonomic reflex arc seems to be intact in the patients with fibromyalgia.
Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110608, India.
Poorvi
P
Kulshreshtha
Rajiva
R
Gupta
Raj Kumar
RK
Yadav
Ramesh Lal
RL
Bijlani
Kishore Kumar
KK
Deepak
D000328:Adult; D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015897:Comorbidity / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010275:Parasympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*