Does a reduction in heart rate variability (SDNN) predict mortality better than conventional clinical measurements in patients with chronic heart failure?
Reduced heart rate variability (SDNN) is a strong predictor of mortality in chronic heart failure, identifying high-risk patients who may need additional therapy beyond ACE inhibitors.
CHF is associated with autonomic dysfunction, which can be quantified by measuring HRV. A reduction in SDNN identifies patients at high risk of death and is a better predictor of death due to progressive heart failure than other conventional clinical measurements. High-risk subgroups identified by this measurement are candidates for additional therapy after prescription of an ACE inhibitor.
Nolan et al. (1998) studied this question.