A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HEART RATE VARIABILITY ANALYSIS BETWEEN PREMENOPAUSAL AND POSTMENOPAUSAL INDIVIDUALS

Abstract--Postmenopausal women have reduced heart rate variability when compared to premenopausal women. Reduced level of estrogen hormone in postmenopausal women makes them more prone for cardiovascular problems when compared to premenopausal women. The objective of this study was to compare the parameters of frequency domain analysis of heart rate variability between premenopausal and postmenopausal women. The study included 30 postmenopausal women above 45yrs of age and 30 premenopausal individuals in the age group between 35-45yrs were recruited from Master-health checkup, Stanley Medical College Hospital, Chennai . Ethical committee approval was obtained. After explaining about the procedure, written and informed consent were obtained from the subjects. ECG was recorded for five minutes in LEAD II in supine position. Frequency domain analysis of heart rate variability was done using RMS Digital Polyrite software version 2.1. Postmenopausal women had significantly (p0.01) lower HF, higher LF and increased LFHF ratio in comparison to premenopausal women. This study concludes that postmenopausal women had reduced heart rate variability and they are at more risk when compared to premenopausal women. So regular periodic evaluation of cardiac autonomic status using heart rate variability analysis in postmenopausal women may pave the way for earlier detection of women at risk for developing myocardial ischemia and prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.