title: Impact of Menstrual Cycle on Cardiac Autonomic Function Assessed by Heart Rate Variability and Heart Rate Recovery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present study was to investigate autonomic tone during the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle using heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate recovery (HRR) in healthy women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty women aged 22-37 years with regular menstrual cycles were included in the study. The HRV and HRR were measured at the follicular and luteal phases. The HRV was obtained using the time domain method with 24-hour long-term recordings. For time domain analysis, the following were obtained: standard deviation of all normal sinus R-R intervals during 24 h (SDNN), mean of the standard deviation of all normal sinus R-R intervals for all 5-min segments (SDNN index), standard deviation of average normal sinus R-R intervals for all 5-min segments (SDANN), root mean square of the successive normal sinus R-R interval difference (rMSSD), and percentage of successive normal sinus R-R intervals longer than 50 ms (pNN50). The HRR was calculated at the first, second, and third minute of recovery after the cessation of peak exercise using a treadmill test. The paired sample t test was used for the comparison of both phases of the menstrual cycle.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SDNN (136 ± 39 vs. 154 ± 32 ms; p = 0.015) and SDANN (122 ± 36 vs. 142 ± 36 ms; p = 0.004) were significantly lower during the luteal phase than during the follicular phase. The HRR, rMSSD, and pNN50 were not different between the 2 phases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parasympathetic tone markers of HRV and HRR were unaffected by the menstrual phase. Lower SDNN and SDANN during the luteal phase than during the follicular phase could have resulted from enhanced sympathetic activity during the luteal phase.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Konya Education and Research Hospital, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Şadan
authors.initials: Ş
authors.lastname: Yazar
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yazıcı
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000502:physiology*
references.citation: J Appl Physiol Respir Environ Exerc Physiol. 1982 Dec;53(6):1572-5
references.pmid: 7153152
references.citation: Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1989;58(8):879-83
references.pmid: 2767070
references.citation: Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2006 Jun;29(6):607-13
references.pmid: 16784426
references.citation: Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2009 Aug;297(2):H765-74
references.pmid: 19465541
references.citation: Am J Cardiol. 1999 Apr 1;83(7):1049-54
references.pmid: 10190518
references.citation: Biomed Sci Instrum. 2005;41:340-5
references.pmid: 15850129
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 1998 Nov 16;81(2):163-78
references.pmid: 9858034
references.citation: Psychophysiology. 1986 Jul;23(4):393-402
references.pmid: 3774924
references.citation: Exp Physiol. 2003 May;88(3):441-6
references.pmid: 12719769
references.citation: Psychophysiology. 2009 Jul;46(4):904-11
references.pmid: 19386049
references.citation: Lancet. 1996 Mar 23;347(9004):786-8
references.pmid: 8622333
references.citation: Psychosom Med. 1999 May-Jun;61(3):387-96
references.pmid: 10367621
references.citation: Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol. 2002 Jan;7(1):60-3
references.pmid: 11844293
references.citation: J Auton Nerv Syst. 1997 Sep 10;66(1-2):69-74
references.pmid: 9334995
references.citation: Psychosom Med. 1995 Jul-Aug;57(4):331-5
references.pmid: 7480562