A study on the analysis of heart rate variability among women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Objective: To analyze heart rate variability (HRV) among women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Methods: A total of 60 women of >20 weeks gestational age were included (30 cases and 30 controls). All the subjects of the study were undergone an oral glucose tolerance tests (oGTT) generating diagnostic indicators for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The recording of short term HRV was done according to the recommendation of the task force on HRV. Following 10 minutes of supine rest in autonomic laboratory of department of physiology, all leads of HRV was placed over the subject in requisite position. Lead II of ECG was recorded during supine rest using Medicaid 4 channel system. Results: There was no significant (p>0.05) difference in age, height, weight and BMI between cases and controls showing the comparability of the groups. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure was found to be significantly (p=0.0001) higher among cases compared to controls. Peak frequency (in Hz) and peak power (%) were found to be significantly (p=0.0001) higher among cases compared to controls. Conclusion: results of study demonstrate that there was significant higher HRV in the patients with GDM than controls.