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Clinical Guide to Cardiac Autonomic Tests pp 149–176Cite as

Short-Term Measurement of Heart Rate Variability

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Abstract

The heart is an organ with rich innervation from the parasympathetic and sympathetic limbs of the autonomic nervous system. Although the heart is capable of intrinsic regulation of cardiac rhythm, electrical conduction and contractility, those functions are largely under the control of autonomic nervous system. Particularly, autonomic nervous system is responsible for rapid regulation of cardiac rhythm and pump function in order to match cardiac output with the body needs during various exogenic stimuli of daily life — physical and mental stress, posture changes, etc. Sino-atrial node and atrioventricular node receive both parasympathetic and sympathetic efferent innervation, whereas in the ventricles efferent neural connections are almost solely of sympathetic origin.1 In addition to efferent innervation, the heart has afferent autonomic receptors, which subserve various reflexes originating from the heart.2

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Authors
  1. Juha E. K. Hartikainen
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  2. Kari U. O. Tahvanainen
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  3. Tom A. Kuusela
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiological Sciences, St. George’s Hospital Medical School, London, UK

    Marek Malik

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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Hartikainen, J.E.K., Tahvanainen, K.U.O., Kuusela, T.A. (1998). Short-Term Measurement of Heart Rate Variability. In: Malik, M. (eds) Clinical Guide to Cardiac Autonomic Tests. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1057-2_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1057-2_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5071-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-1057-2

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