PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Khrystyna Semen
AU  - Lyubomyr Solovey
AU  - Marta Vasyliv
AU  - Danylo Kaminskyy
AU  - Olha Yelisyeyeva
AU  - Ostap Yavorskiy
TI  - Sildenafil improves heart rate variability, pulmonary hemodynamics and functional status in pulmonary arterial hypertension
DP  - 2014 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P2312
VI  - 44
IP  - Suppl 58
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P2312.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P2312.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2014 Sep 01; 44
AB  - The aim: to study changes of heart rate variability (HRV) in relationship with exercise tolerance, pulmonary hemodynamics and level of NT-proBNP in PAH patients receiving sildenafil.Material and methods. Seven patients with severe idiopathic PAH (mean age 32±9years, 4 patients with FC ІІ and 3 patients with FC ІІІ) confirmed by right heart catheterization were given sildenafil (75 mg/d) for 12 weeks. Changes in the echocardiographic indexes, distance in 6-minute walk test (6MWT), NT-proBNP determined in blood, and HRV parameters from short-time ECG records were analyzed before and after the study.Results. Therapy with sildenafil caused some increase in 6-MWT (from 373.7±65.9 m to 401±49.3 m) with significant reduction of the tricuspid valve systolic pressure gradient (from 69±10 to 48±12 mmHg) confirmed by echocardiography. A decrease in NT-proBNP was more prominent in patients with its initial lower values. These changes were accompanied by marked increase in HRV time and frequency domain parameters after sildenafil treatment. Predominance of the very low and low frequency bands was preserved in spectral structure during study both in supine position and during orthostasis.Conclusions. Sildenafil therapy was associated with significant increase in HRV, improvement of functional capacity and clinical status in PAH patients. Correlations between HRV, hemodynamic indexes and NT-proBNP levels are suggestive about great potential of HRV for disease course monitoring in PAH.