Blunted heart rate response to vagal withdrawal in persons with tetraplegia

Cardiovascular autonomic mechanisms control heart rate (HR) and determination of heart rate variability (HRV) permits the quantitative assessment of relative shifts in autonomic cardiac control during head-up tilt (HUT). The study herein used HRV techniques to determine the vagal and sympathetic contribution to the change in HR during HUT in persons with tetraplegia (T; n = 7) paraplegia (P; n = 7) and a non-spinal cord injured (non-SCI; n = 8) control group. Heart rate (HR) was continuously monitored and cardiovascular autonomic responses were assessed for 5-minutes at supine and at 45° HUT. Change associated with tilt from supine to 45° HUT was calculated for HR (deltaHR), high & low frequency HRV (HF & LF) and the LF/HF ratio. HR and LF power were lower in the T compared to the P and non-SCI groups at 45° HUT, whereas there were no group differences for HF at 45° HUT. The LF/HF ratio was lower in the T compared to the non-SCI group at 45° HUT. The relationship between delta HR and delta HF response differed between groups (significant group × delta HF interaction) such that the slope of this relationship was reduced in the T (−1.026: 95% CI: −2.623 to 0.571) compared with the non-SCI (−6.985: 95% CI: −11.25 to 2.72) and P (−5.218: 95% CI: −8.197 to −2.239) groups. There was no significant interaction effect for the relationships between deltaHR and deltaLF or deltaLF/HF. In summary, although the magnitude of vagal withdrawal was comparable among the groups, the increase in HR was attenuated in the group with tetraplegia, which may reflect reduced sympathetic cardiac modulation or altered SA node responsiveness to vagal withdrawal.