Effect of left ventricular hypertrophy on heart rate variability in essential hypertension

Objective:To investigate the changes of heart rate variability (HRV) in essential hypertension with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and its correlation with LVH.Method:84 essential hypertensive patients and 31 control persons received examinations of 24 hour Holter electrocardiogram and echocardiogram.Result:Only pNN50 in hypertension with non LVH was significantly lower than in control (P 0.01 ).However,all HRV parameters in hypertension with LVH were significantly lower than in control.Compared with non LVH group,the SDNN,SDANN index and SDNN index in LVH group decreased significantly (P 0.01 ,P 0.01 ,P 0.05 ).The SDNN,SDANN index and SDNN index in hypertension were negatively related to left ventricular mass index.Conclusion:HRV was reduced in essential hypertension with LVH,and there was negative relation between HRV and the severity of LVH in hypertension.