Study of heart rate turbulence in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy

Objective:To investigate the heart rate turbulence in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM).Methods:The 47 DCM patients(DCM group) and 50 normal controls(control group) were examined by 24 h Holter monitoring and compared HRT parameters as turbulence onset(TO) and turbulence slope(TS) between DCM group and control group.Results:The HRT parameters showed significant differences in two group:Turbulence onset of DCM[(2.14±0.57)%] was more than that of controls[(0.73±0.65)%],P0.05;Turbulence slope of DCM [(2.34±0.81) ms/RR] was less than that of controls[(4.09±1.32) ms/RR],P0.05.Conclusion:Attenuation of heart rate turbulence in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy after ventricular premature beats demonstrate that the function of autonomic nerve of DCM patients has been impaired significantly and HRT can be viewed as a method applied in risk stratification of the function of autonomic nerve and evaluating prognosis in DCM patients.