Intracoronary autologous bone marrow cell transplantation beneficially modulates heart rate variability

The effect of intracoronary administration of autologous bone marrow cells on autonomic modulation of heart rate has not yet been demonstrated. Therefore, we investigated different parameters of heart rate variability (HRV) in 46 patients without (n = 23) or with (n = 23) intracoronary stem cell therapy after transmural myocardial infarction. After three to twelve months of follow up, patients receiving stem cells showed a significant increase of HRV parameters that have been linked to cardiovascular prognosis.