Premium
Age‐related changes in cardiac autonomic control during sleep
Author(s) -
Brandenberger Gabrielle,
Viola Antoine U.,
Ehrhart Jean,
Charloux Anne,
Geny Bernard,
Piquard FranÇois,
Simon Chantal
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of sleep research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2869
pISSN - 0962-1105
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2869.2003.00353.x
Subject(s) - heart rate variability , sleep (system call) , cardiology , sleep stages , medicine , respiratory system , very low frequency , autonomic nervous system , slow wave sleep , respiratory frequency , breathing , heart rate , audiology , psychology , anesthesia , electroencephalography , polysomnography , apnea , tidal volume , physics , blood pressure , psychiatry , astronomy , computer science , operating system
Summary Aging is commonly associated with decreased sleep quality and increased periodic breathing (PB) that can influence heart rate variability (HRV). Cardiac autonomic control, as inferred from HRV analysis, was determined, taking into account the sleep quality and breathing patterns. Two groups of 12 young (21.1 ± 0.8 years) and 12 older (64.9 ± 1.9 years) volunteers underwent electroencephalographic, cardiac, and respiratory recordings during one experimental night. Time and frequency domain indices of HRV were calculated in 5‐min segments, together with electroencephalographic and respiratory power spectra. In the elderly, large R–R oscillations in the very‐low frequency (VLF) range emerged, that reflected the frequency of PB observed in 18% of the sleep time. PB occurred more frequently during rapid eye movement sleep (REM) sleep and caused a significant ( P < 0.02) increase in the standard deviation of normal R–R intervals (SDNN) and absolute low‐frequency (LF) power. With normal respiratory patterns, SDNN, absolute VLF, LF, and high frequency (HF) power fell during each sleep stage ( P < 0.01) compared with young subjects, with no significant sleep‐stage dependent variations. An overall decrease ( P < 0.01) in normalized HF/(LF + HF) was observed in the elderly, suggesting a predominant loss of parasympathetic activity which may be related to decreased slow‐wave sleep duration. These results indicate that two distinct breathing features, implying different levels of autonomic drive to the heart, influence HRV in the elderly during sleep. The breathing pattern must be considered to correctly interpret HRV in the elderly.