Published in:
01-02-2010 | Editorial
In search of the optimal measure for assessment of parasympathetic control of heart rate
Author:
Stuart D. Katz
Published in:
Clinical Autonomic Research
|
Issue 1/2010
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Excerpt
Parasympathetic control of heart rate is mediated via acetylcholine-dependent muscarinic receptor signaling at the sinoatrial node. Stimulation of the muscarinic type 2-receptor slows sinoatrial rate through G
i-coupled activation of inward rectifying K
Ach channel activity and indirect adenyl cyclase-dependent inhibition of the hyperpolarization activated I
f current [
11,
15]. Parasympathetic control of heart rate can be indirectly assessed in human subjects by measurement of resting heart rate (with or without pharmacological blockade of muscarinic and adrenergic receptors), assessment of heart rate variability in time- and/or frequency domains, measurement of cardiovagal baroreceptor sensitivity in response to physiological maneuvers or pharmacologically induced changes in blood pressure, and assessment of the early phase of post-exercise heart rate recovery [
1,
2,
12,
13]. All of these measures have been utilized to assess parasympathetic control of heart rate in a variety of human research settings, but there are few published data comparing multiple measures within the same individual. …
