At the same time, reduced HRV has been linked to worse prognosis in disciplines as diverse as cardiology (Malik and Camm, 1993) and gynaecology (Freemann R, Garite T, 1981). Only this allowed the precise calculation of the variability between heartbeats, i.e., heart rate variability (HRV).Įarly experiments showed that this variability originates from the autonomous nervous system (Akselrod et al., 1981), primarily from rapid vagal (dis)inhibition (Warner and Cox, 1962). The development of the electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement in 1895 represents a milestone in medical history allowing an accurate measurement of heart rate. Heart rate and its variability plays a role in disease diagnosis and prognosis since the ancient medicus Galen (Billman, 2011). The applicability of HRV measurement in preventive settings is discussed. the other quartiles yielded a combined HR of 1.56 (95% CI: 1.32–1.85). Sub-analyses of studies comparing the lowest quartile of 5-min root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) vs. Meta-regressions revealed no effect modifier for HRs extracted from covariate-adjusted studies. IPD sub-analysis for heart rate corrected HRV parameters confirmed the strong association between HRV and all-cause mortality. Most of the examined parameters showed comparable hazard ratios (HR). Lower HRV parameter values were significant predictors of higher mortality across different ages, sex, continents, populations and recording lengths. A total of 32 studies and two individual participant datasets (IPD) with 37 samples and 38,008 participants were included. The aim of the present comprehensive meta-analysis is to examine eight different HRV parameters to determine their association with all-cause and cardiac mortality. Measures of heart rate variability (HRV) as a predictor of risk of disease and mortality have been investigated from various perspectives for more than six decades.

Armcad 2005 a10