Heart Rate Variability Analysis as a Patient Investigation Won’t Be an Ideal Test for Assessing Autonomic Dysfunctions

Abstract

Autonomic dysfunctions have been associated with many clinical disorders. Dysregulation of autonomic functions is reported to be involved in etiopathogenesis of cardio-metabolic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases and so on. Therefore, recently autonomic function tests (AFTs) have become part of routine patient investigations in medical practice. Standard autonomic assessments include conventional AFTs, spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV). Recently, HRV analysis has become a more popular test in investigating autonomic disorders. Nevertheless, an investigator should be aware of the limitations of HRV analysis, especially that of shortterm HRV, especially when it is done as a single investigation of the AFT. Therefore, in this editorial we analyse the merits and demerits of spectral analysis of HRV, used for patients’ investigations in clinical practice.