Autonomic control of cardiovascular system in pre- and postmenopausal women: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the features of autonomic control of the cardiovascular system in pre- and post-menopausal women.Material and Methods: We studied 185 postmenopausal women aged 59.3±8.5 years (mean±SD) and 104 premenopausal women aged45.1±5.8 years. Standard indices of heart rate variability (HRV) (mean heart rate, coefficient of variation, standard deviation of the NN interval(the time elapsing between two consecutive R waves in the electrocardiogram with normal sinus rhythm) (SDNN), square root of the meansquared differences of successive NN intervals (RMSSD), proportion derived by dividing RR50, the number of interval differences of successiveNN intervals greater than 50 ms, by the total number of NN intervals (PNN50), and power of low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) bandsin absolute values and percentages of total spectral power) and index S of synchronization between the 0.1-Hz rhythms in heart rate and pho -toplethysmogram were compared between these two groups at rest. We assessed the following sex hormones: estradiol, follicle stimulatinghormone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and testosterone.Results: Mean heart rate and power of LF and HF bands were significantly different (p