Clin
Rheumatol. 2000; 19(6):477-80 (ISSN: 0770-3198)
Tumiati B; Perazzoli F; Negro A; Pantaleoni M; Regolisti G
Santa Maria Nuova Hospital, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
brunotum@tin.it
Heart
rate variability (HRV) gives information about sympathetic parasympathetic
autonomic balance. Our purpose was to determine whether HRV is abnormal in
patients with Sjögren's syndrome. In 16 patients with
Sjögren's syndrome and 30 matched controls, a short
time analysis of HRV was performed for both the frequency and the time domain.
In the time domain, patients tended to display a slower heart rate, greater R-R
variability and higher standard deviation of the mean (SDNN) than did healthy
subjects, but the differences were not statistically significant. In the
frequency domain the spectral measures of HRV showed a slight reduction of LF
and an increase of HF; as a result, the ratio between high and low frequencies,
representative of sympathovagal modulation, was
significantly reduced. Our data suggest an increase in the parasympathetic
control of heart rate in patients with Sjögren's
syndrome. This predominance in vagal tone could exert a protective and
antiarrhythmic role in patients with primary Sjögren's
syndrome, and may be relevant with reference to the lower incidence of sudden
death in this disorder compared to other major autoimmune diseases.