Key result
Fibromyalgia was associated with a higher heart rate fractal scaling index alpha-1 compared to controls (1.22 vs. 1.16; p=0.031), suggesting rigid autonomic nervous system performance.
Why the study?
Is the heart rate variability fractal scaling index altered in patients with fibromyalgia compared to controls?
Case-Control (n=60)
Is the heart rate variability fractal scaling index altered in patients with fibromyalgia compared to controls?
Fibromyalgia patients exhibit an altered heart rate fractal exponent alpha-1, suggesting a more rigid autonomic nervous system performance.
OBJECTIVES: The prevailing linear reductionist medical model seems unable to explain complex multisymptomatic illnesses such as fibromyalgia (FM) and similar maladies. Paradigms derived from the complexity theory may provide a coherent framework for these elusive illnesses. Along these lines is the proposal that FM represents a degradation of our main complex adaptive system (the autonomic nervous system, ANS), in a failed effort to adjust to a hostile environment. Healthy complex systems have fractal structures. Heart rate fractal-like variability reflects resilient ANS performance. Our aim was to measure the heart rate variability (HRV) fractal scaling index in FM patients and to correlate this index with clinical symptoms. METHOD: We studied 30 women with FM and 30 controls. All participants filled out questionnaires assessing the severity of FM. The HRV fractal scaling index was estimated during 24 h using detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). RESULTS: The fractal scaling index alpha-1 was higher in FM patients than in controls (mean ± sd: 1.22 ± 0.10 vs. 1.16 ± 0.09; p = 0.031). There was a positive correlation between the fractal scaling index alpha-1 and the visual analogue scale (VAS) for depression (Spearman's ρ = 0.36, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: The heart rate fractal exponent alpha-1 is altered in FM patients, suggesting a rigid ANS performance. This tangible non-linear finding supports the notion that FM may represent a degradation of our main complex adaptive system, namely the ANS.
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Lerma et al. (2015) conducted a case-control in Fibromyalgia (n=60). Fibromyalgia vs. Controls was evaluated on HRV fractal scaling index alpha-1 (p=0.031). Fibromyalgia was associated with a higher heart rate fractal scaling index alpha-1 compared to controls (1.22 vs. 1.16; p=0.031), suggesting rigid autonomic nervous system performance.
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