Determinants of cardiac vagal regulation: A cross-sectional study in a general population

Abstract Attenuated cardiac vagal regulation indicates an increased risk of cardiac events, but the reasons for this impaired regulation are not well known. Cardiac vagal regulation was measured in 5.408 subjects (2627 men and 2781 women) who underwent short term (100 s) ECG recordings during controlled deep respiration (0.1 Hz). Under these conditions, the power in the low frequency (LF) spectral band (0.05 to 0.15 Hz) predominantly reflects cardiac vagal outflow. There was a strong inverse relationship between LF power and age in both genders (β = − 0.033 in men and − 0.035 in women; P  In conclusion, in a general population, impaired cardiac vagal regulation is associated with many cardiovascular risk factors, including fibrinogen. Women have a more rapid decline of vagal regulation in the second and third decades.