Heart rate variability parameters in adolescents aged 12-17 years who underwent surgery for congenital heart defects

Abstract

Heart rate variability (HRV) is simple, non-invasive, objective, sensitive indicator of changes in a person’s functional state. A number of studies have noted that children with congenital heart defects (CHD) tend to have lower overall HRV scores compared to healthy controls, which is likely due to disturbances in heart rate regulation caused by structural changes in the heart.

Aim. Comparison of HRV indicators at rest, calculated using various types of heart rhythm analysis, in apparently healthy children and children with CHD in the long-term postoperative period.

Materials and methods. Seventy (70) children aged 12 to 17 years (Me=14): children from the first group (n = 26, 11 girls) were after radical correction of aortic coarctation in the late postoperative period; children from the second group (n = 44, 30 girls) were apparently healthy children.

Results. Significantly lower values of HRV parameters were revealed: SDNN, pNN50, triangular index and total spectral power in the group of children with CHD compared to apparently healthy children. Also, in the group of children with CHD, a significant increase in VLF and approximate entropy were recorded.

Conclusion. Reduced HRV in children with congenital heart disease in the late postoperative period may indicate disturbances in the autonomic regulation of the heart, and an increase in the complexity of the heart rhythm apparently reflects the need for the formation of more complex adaptation mechanisms in such children.