Key result
SLE is linked to reduced HRV versus controls regardless of corticosteroid therapy.
Why the study?
Is heart rate variability reduced in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus compared to healthy controls, and does corticosteroid treatment affect it?
Cross-Sectional (n=34)
Is heart rate variability reduced in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus compared to healthy controls, and does corticosteroid treatment affect it?
Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus exhibit reduced heart rate variability indicative of cardiac parasympathetic autonomic dysfunction, independent of corticosteroid therapy.
May signal autonomic dysfunction in SLE; hypothesis-generating for prognostic value and interventions.
As patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) survive their episodes of disease activity, increasing morbidity is shown to be related to chronic cardiovascular complications. The objective of this study was to assess the cardiac parasympathetic autonomic functional status, as reflected by heart rate variability, in SLE patients with and without corticosteroid treatment. A cross-sectional study of SLE patients attending the Arthritis Clinic was done, using age and gender-matched controls. Thirty-four female patients, age 39 +/- 11, were entered, 20 of whom were receiving steroids at the time of study. Time and frequency domain heart rate variability indices were significantly reduced in the SLE groups with and without corticosteroid therapy, as compared to controls. The indices were not, however, significantly different in the two SLE groups.
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Stein et al. (1996) conducted a cross-sectional in Systemic lupus erythematosus (n=34). Systemic lupus erythematosus vs. Age and gender-matched controls was evaluated on Time and frequency domain heart rate variability indices. Systemic lupus erythematosus was associated with significantly reduced time and frequency domain heart rate variability indices compared to controls, regardless of corticosteroid therapy.
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