Assessment of Heart Autonomic Control on the Basis of Spectral Analysis of Heart Rate Variability

An orthostatic test with frequency-controlled breathing (with a respiration period of 10 s) or spontaneous breathing was used to analyze frequency estimates of the heart rate variability (HRV) in the low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) ranges in young men and women. It was demonstrated that the spectral components of HRV bear no signs of sex differentiation, suggesting a uniform structural organization of the system of autonomic nervous control of the heart (SANCH) in humans. The LF component of the HRV spectrum is a marker of the functional state of the SANCH; it should be studied under conditions of controlled breathing at a frequency of 0.1 Hz. The HF and LF components of the HRV characterize the state of the SANCH at a given moment and do not reflect directly its adaptation reserve. The HF component of the HRV is interesting as a parameter that may be used for estimating the changes in the adaptation reserve of heart autonomic control. It is preferable to analyze this component in the absence of external disturbances in the LF range of the spectrum.