Table 1.
Haemodynamic and heart rate variability data.
| RA | RA-HTN | NC | HTN | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 13 | 17 | 17 | 16 | |
| HR, bpm | 66 ± 10*† | 65 ± 10* | 57 ± 7 | 60 ± 7 | 0.008 |
| Systolic BP, mm Hg | 128 (123–135)†‡ | 153 (145–161)* | 123 (118–128) | 146 (134–158)* | < 0.001 |
| Diastolic BP, mm Hg | 79 ± 6‡ | 87 ± 10* | 75 ± 6 | 84 ± 11* | < 0.001 |
| Mean BP, mm Hg | 95 (91–100)†‡ | 109 (104–114)* | 89 (82–95) | 105 (98–112)* | < 0.001 |
| Leg blood flow, ml/100 ml/min | 2.0 (1.5–2.6)* | 2.0 (1.4–2.8)* | 1.2 (0.9–1.7) | 1.4 (1.0–1.8) | 0.047 |
| LVC, units | 21 (15–27) | 18 (12–26) | 14 (10–19) | 13 (10–17) | 0.148 |
| Forearm blood flow, ml/100 ml/mina | 2.8 (1.9–4.1) | 3.5 (2.2–5.5) | 2.5 (1.9–3.3) | 2.4 (1.9–3.0) | 0.541 |
| FVC, unitsa | 29 (20–42) | 31 (18–51) | 27 (21–36) | 23 (17–30) | 0.782 |
| rMSSD, ms | 25 (18–36)* | 20 (13–29) * | 48 (38–60) | 29 (20–40) | 0.003 |
| pNN50, % | 5 (2 − 12)* | 3 (1–7)* | 18 (11–29) | 5 (2–12)* | 0.005 |
| SD1 | 18 (13–26)* | 14 (9–21)* | 38 (27–43) | 20 (14–29) | 0.003 |
| SD2 | 48 (36–63)* | 46 (35–61)* | 79 (67–94) | 58 (45–76) | 0.005 |
| DFA-α1 | 1.0 (0.9–1.2) | 1.2 (1.0–1.4) | 1.0 (0.9–1.3) | 1.1 (1.0–1.3) | 0.136 |
| HF, ms2 | 256 (131–500)* | 116 (52–260)* | 759 (436–1322) | 240 (116–496)* | < 0.001 |
| LF, ms2 | 272 (153–482)* | 245 (132–456)* | 1097 (746–1612) | 357 (186–683)* | 0.001 |
| VLF, ms2 | 556 (304–1020)* | 567 (315–1017)* | 1431 (951–2151) | 946 (552–1621) | 0.025 |
| TP, ms2 | 1135 (631–2042)* | 1014 (569–1807)* | 3104 (2010–4793) | 1665 (943–4793) | 0.010 |
| HF, nu | 49 ± 15‡ | 34 ± 14 | 42 ± 15 | 41 ± 15 | 0.053 |
| LF, nu | 51 ± 15‡ | 67 ± 14 | 58 ± 15 | 59 ± 15 | 0.053 |
| LF/HF ratio | 1.1 (0.7–1.5)‡ | 2.1 (1.5–3.0) | 1.5 (1.0–2.1) | 1.5 (1.0–2.1) | 0.049 |
| EDR, Hz | 0.218 ± 0.032 | 0.222 ± 0.050 | 0.202 ± 0.051 | 0.232 ± 0.047 | 0.336 |
Normally distributed data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation. Non-normally distributed data are displayed as geometric mean (95% confidence intervals). Statistical differences were tested using a one-way ANOVA with post hoc LSD or Kruskal Wallis with post hoc Dunn-Bonferroni.
Significance p ≤ 0.05. Post hoc p ≤ 0.05 * v NC, † v HTN, ‡v RA-HTN.
BMI = body mass index, BP = blood pressure, DFA = detrended fluctuation analysis, EDR, ECG derived respiration, HF = high frequency power (0.15–0.4 Hz), HR = heart rate, LF = low frequency power (0.04–0.15 Hz), RA = rheumatoid arthritis, pNN50 = NN50 as a percentage of all NN intervals, rMSSD = root mean square of successive differences, TP, total power (0.04–0.5 Hz), VLF = very low frequency power (0–0.04 Hz).
Forearm blood flow and FVC were determined during the rest period of the PASAT. RA n = 10, RA-HTN n = 10, NC n = 16, HTN n = 14.