Spectral analysis of heart rate variability in patients with sinoatrial node dysfunction-diagnostic implications

The paper presents the utility of spectral analysis of heart rate variability for sinoatrial node dysfunction (SAND) diagnosing, which is characterized by the presence of sudden, unexpected heart period fluctuations. In 40 patients (pts) with SAND and in 40 control subjects (sbs) RR interval oscillations during spontaneous breathing in recumbent position were analysed by means of FFT spectral analysis after. SAND pts showed longer mean sinus cycle length (BCL), higher SD-RR and greater relative power at suprarespiratory band (0.35-0.5 Hz). SAND pts were characterized by the lack: of HRV variables dependencies on age and BCL. Discriminative analysis, based on 7 variables showed that BCL duration and relative power spectrum at suprarespiratory band were sufficient for distinction of sinoatrial node function, since 88.75% correct classifications existed when this discriminative model was applied. We state that spectral HRV analysis should be introduced for routine SAND screening SAND