Heart rate variability in pregnant women with ventricular extrasystoles

Frequent ventricular extrasystoles (VE) can affect haemodynamic indexes and lead to negative consequences for the health of not only an expectant mother, but also a fetus. The analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is recognized as an informative method for noninvasive assessment of the impact of the autonomic nervous system on the cardiovascular system. HRV in pregnant women has been understudied. Therefore, the goal of the present research is to investigate HRV indexes in pregnant women with frequent VE in the 3-rd trimester of pregnancy and early postnatal period. Materials and Methods HRV was estimated in 40 pregnant women with frequent VE, who were divided into 2 groups: group 1- in the 3-rd trimester of pregnancy, and group 2 - in the early postnatal period. A control group included 20 normal pregnant women without any arrhythmias. In addition, HRV indexes in these groups were compared to the indexes in the group of healthy non-pregnant women at the age of 18 to 30. The investigation of HRV was conducted by using the 24-hour HM-ECG with "Valenta" cardioregistrator (Russia). SDNN, SDAN, HRVi, HF, LF, VLF and LF/HF indexes of HRV were under the study. Results The analysis of time indexes revealed the decreased of HRV during pregnancy: in the 3-rd trimester SDNN decreased. In the postnatal period SDNN increased. It was found that rMSSD decresed in pregnant women and increased in the postnatal period that is indicative of enhanced parasympathetic effects. Similar dynamics was noted in analyzing the HF index associated with vagal activity. Vagal activity tended to decrease in pregnancy as compared to its normal values and increased significantly in the early postnatal period. We sould note that the LF waves activity reflecting the sympathetic effects on the heart increased gradually in pregnant women and decreased in the postnatal period. Discussion and Conclusions The investigation of HRV allows to estimate an extent of the autonomic nervous system imbalance in pregnant women and in women in the postnatal period and to determine a ontribution made by various links of the autonomic and humoral systems into cardiac activity.