Abstract
Spontaneous BRS estimates may considerable vary according to the technique of blood pressure and heart rate assessment. To optimise and standardise BRS estimation for clinical use we evaluated possible differences between spontaneous BRS indices estimated from either finger plethysmography or radial tonometry. Forty-five healthy volunteers underwent simultaneous recordings of electrocardiogram, finger plethysmography and radial tonometry in supine position and during 60° head-up tilt. BRS was computed by spectral analysis from either R–R time series and/or arterial pressure pulse. Radial tonometry generated higher mean BRS estimates than finger plethysmography. The difference decreased upon postural change from supine to upright. In the upright position, BRS estimates based on R–R interval proved to be generally lower compared to BRS indices estimated from arterial pressure pulse. The ratio of low-to-high-frequency power of inter-systolic interval and systolic blood pressure from tonometry was lower than that from plethysmography in supine and approximated in upright position. Spectral parameters of inter-systolic interval and R–R interval did not differ in supine but diverged in upright position. Changes of spectral parameters were most pronounced in R–R interval. Arterial pressure pulse is adequate for estimation of BRS under resting conditions but it may distort BRS estimates under physical load. We, therefore, recommend using an ECG signal for BRS estimation especially in non-stationary conditions.
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Abbreviations
- BRS:
-
Baroreflex sensitivity
- ECG:
-
Electrocardiogram
- IBI:
-
Inter-beat interval
- ISI:
-
Inter-systolic interval (pulse interval)
- MTRS:
-
Multiple trigonometric regressive spectral analysis
- RRI:
-
R–R interval
- RRI-PLE:
-
BRS estimated from ECG R-wave tracking and systolic pressure pulse of finger plethysmography
- RRI-TON:
-
BRS estimated from ECG R-wave tracking and systolic pressure pulse of radial tonometry
- ISI-PLE:
-
BRS estimated from systolic pressure pulse of finger plethysmography
- ISI-TON:
-
BRS estimated from systolic pressure pulse of radial tonometry
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This work was supported by the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus of the Technische Universität Dresden.
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Viehweg, J., Reimann, M., Gasch, J. et al. Comparison of baroreflex sensitivity estimated from ECG R–R and inter-systolic intervals obtained by finger plethysmography and radial tonometry. J Neural Transm 123, 481–490 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-016-1535-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-016-1535-4