Heart rate variability in children with dilated cardiomyopathy

Objective To explore the characteristics of heart rate variability(HRV)in children with dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM).Methods Analysis of HRV time and frequency domain over 24 hours were performed in 36 children with DCM and 54 healthy children.Results Compared with healthy children,time domain(SDNN,SDANN,rMSSD,PNN50)measures of HRV were significantly decreased in children with DCM(all P 0.05);frequency domain(VLF,LF,HF)measures of HRV were significantly decreased(all P 0.05)in children with DCM.HRV from two cases of death and two DCM groups with different heart function were retrospectively analyzed and it showed that HRV decreased progressively with the deterioration of heart failure.Conclusions HRV is reduced in children with DCM.HRV indices are sensitive markers of the clinical state and prognosis in children with DCM.