Modulation Of Cardiac Autonomic Tone In Healthy Neonates

The normal heart rate variability (HRV) values in newborn infants remain unclear. A recent study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of measuring and analyzing short-term HRV in 20 healthy-term neonates (meeting criteria of gestational age > 37 weeks and APGAR score ≥ 8 at 5 minutes).

It assessed Cardiac autonomic modulation through short-term HRV, involving a continuous 5-minute recording of electrocardiogram (ECG) using lead II. The HRV analysis included the Time Domain, Frequency Domain, and Non-Linear methods. 

In the Time Domain, values for the first and third quartiles of SDSD ranged from 10.78 to 36.43 ms, RMSSD from 10.82 to 36.4 ms, and pRR50 from 0.39 to 16.82. Frequency Domain values in the first and third quartiles were 56.04 to 72.97 n.u. for LF, 26.76 to 41.58 n.u. for HF, and the LF/HF ratio was 1.33 to 2.72. Non-linear values in the first and third quartiles were 7.62 to 25.76 ms for SD1 and 25.50 to 46.03 ms for SD2.

This study demonstrates the feasibility of recording HRV in neonates and suggests its potential as a noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic tool for assessing neonatal and infant diseases.

Tripathi S, Khandelwal E, Khandwal O. Modulation of Cardiac Autonomic Tone in Healthy Neonates in New Indian Journal of Pediatrics. 2019; 8(4): 178-182