Heart Rate Turbulence in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease and Chronic Congestive Heart Failure

Objective To study the changes in heart rate turbulence(HRT) in patients with coronary heart disease and chronic congestive heart failure,and to explore its clinical value.Methods Fifty patients with coronary heart disease(group A),50 patients with coronary heart disease and chronic congestive heart failure(group B),and 50 healthy persons(control group) were enrolled and were monitored with a 24 h digital Holter recorder,and turbulence onset(TO)and turbulence slope(TS) were calculated.Two indexes of heart functional assessment,-including left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDD),were determined by ultrasonic cardiograph.The differences in TO,TS,LVEF and LVEDD among the groups were compared.Results TO and LVEDD in group A or group B were significantly higher than those in control group(P0.05 or P0.01),while TS and LVEF were obviously lower than those in control group(P0.05 or P0.01).TO and LVEDD in group B were higher than those in group A(P0.05),while TS and LVEF in group B were lower than those in group A(P0.05).Conclusion There is a decrease of HRT in patients with coronary heart disease and a significant decrease in patients with coronary heart disease and chronic congestive heart failure.HRT may be a new indicator to assess the functional status of autonomic nervous system and to predict the danger in the patients with coronary heart disease and chronic congestive heart failure.