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Standardisation of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia testing in the context of autonomic function testing

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posted on 2022-12-23, 01:02 authored by Saja Alqasas

Background: Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) is used as an index of parasympathetic activity of the autonomic nervous system. It is most often measured at a fixed, slow breathing rate (0.1 Hz). The excursion in heart rate within each breath cycle is RSA. RSA testing has limited clinical uptake, in part likely due to low specificity and sensitivity, likely due to unconstrained physiological confounders. This thesis investigates the clinical utility of the existing form of RSA testing and investigates whether controlling the known correlate, tidal volume, improves the relationship of RSA testing with known changes in parasympathetic activity. Methods: RSA was quantified in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) patients (a condition with known autonomic dysfunction, n=19) and healthy controls (n=16) to discover if RSA was able to differentiate between groups. In a separate study, RSA was quantified in healthy subjects (n=20) under conditions of free and controlled tidal volume while performing physiological challenges to alter parasympathetic activity (isometric hand-grip exercise and meditation). Results: RSA testing was unable to differentiate between healthy and EDS patients (p=0.34). Controlling tidal volume reduced the tidal volume and RSA (p<0.001) compared to free tidal volume. RSA was not correlated with parasympathetic activity (as defined by the physiological directional change with exercise and meditation) with free tidal volume. Controlling tidal volume did not improve the correlation with parasympathetic activity. Conclusions: RSA testing in its existing form is not sensitive enough to detect a difference in people with autonomic dysfunction. Tidal volume is correlated with RSA and testing can be performed with a controlled tidal volume. However, this does not improve RSA as a correlate of parasympathetic activity. The results presented in this thesis question the reliability and sensitivity of RSA as a surrogate of parasympathetic activity and raise the need of new method to non-invasively estimate parasympathetic activity.

History

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction -- Chapter 2 Literature review -- Chapter 3 Parasympathetic activity as estimated by respiratory sinus arrhythmia in the hypermobile variant of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome -- Chapter 4 Effect of fixed tidal volume on respiratory sinus arrhythmia -- Chapter 5 Conclusions -- Chapter 6 Future research directions -- References

Awarding Institution

Macquarie University

Degree Type

Thesis MRes

Degree

Thesis (MRes), Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University

Department, Centre or School

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Year of Award

2021

Principal Supervisor

Mark Butlin

Additional Supervisor 1

Karen Peebles

Additional Supervisor 2

Isabella Tan

Rights

Copyright: The Author Copyright disclaimer: https://www.mq.edu.au/copyright-disclaimer

Language

English

Extent

96 pages

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