ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Heart Rate Fluctuations and Late Ventricular Potentials in Depression Patients without Clinical Cardiovascular disease
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1
Sivas Anatolia Hospital, Departmant
of Cardiology, Sivas, Turkey
2
Sivas Anatolia Hospital, Departmant
of Cardiovasculer Surgery, Sivas, Turkey
3
Sivas Numune Hospital, Departmant
of Psychiatry, Sivas, Turkey
Online publication date: 2009-07-15
Publication date: 2009-07-15
Corresponding author
Aydın Akyüz
Özel Sivas Anadolu Hastanesi
Phone: 03462150555
Mobile: 05424116550
Eur J Gen Med 2009;6(3):144-149
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Background: Although there are a number of publications demonstrating
how depression increases cardiovascular morbidity and
mortality, there are few and contradictory publications regarding
heart rate fluctuations and late potentials. In the present study,
we aimed to investigate whether heart rate fluctuations (HRF) and
late ventricular potential values are different in patients with
depression compared to those in normal individuals.
Methods: Thirty two untreated depressive patients having no associated
clinical cardiovascular disease and 29 healthy individuals
were recruited in the study. Beck’s depression inventory was used
to determine patients with depression. Recordings were made with
the Cardioscan digital ECG holter recorder. Heart rate fluctuations
and late potential criteria were evaluated using a computer with
Cardioscan software.
Results: There was a decrease in standard deviation of normal
to normal intervals and its index (p= 0.001) and an increase in
sympathetic tonus (p= 0.006) in depressive patients. No statistical
significance in regard to the late ventricular potential values was
determined between depressive patients and healthy individuals.
Conclusions: There was a decrease in some of the HRF parameters
and an increase in sympathetic tonus in depressive patients,
but late ventricular potentials were not different from those of
healthy individuals.