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  • Essay / The prognostic importance of heart rate variability

    1.1. Heart rate variability: Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects changes in the intervals between heartbeats (R waves) over time. The time between two consecutive R waves is called the RR interval; it is measured in milliseconds and is controlled by the autonomic nervous system 1. HRV is a non-invasive method of interpreting autonomic nervous system modulation and provides information relating to each branch of the autonomic nervous system 2. Variability analysis beat to beat provides insight into the relative contributions of sympathetic and parasympathetic components to the control of the heart by the autonomic nervous system 34. In healthy individuals, it is now widely accepted that under normal resting conditions, elevated HRV is a indicator that the parasympathetic pathway is dominant. on the sympathetic path. Therefore, a large number of disease states, e.g. cardiovascular disease, have been associated with low HRV reflecting increased sympathetic activity at rest 5. Studies have reported that regular physical activity improves ...