Long-term carvedilol therapy increases parasympathetic nervous system activity in chronic congestive heart failure

Rochelle L. Goldsmith, J. Thomas Bigger, Daniel M. Bloomfield, Henry Krum, Richard C. Steinman, Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein, Milton Packer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

77 Scopus citations

Abstract

To determine the effect of β blockade on parasympathetic nervous system activity, we assessed RR variability during 24-hour Holter monitoring in 10 patients with congestive heart failure before and after 3 to 4 months of treatment with the β blocker carvedilol. High-frequency power increased from 26 to 64 ms2, root-mean-square of successive differences in RR interval increased from 14.3 to 23.7 ms2, and percentage of absolute differences >50 ms between successive normal RR intervals increased from 0.8% to 4.7%, all p < 0.01, indicating a substantial increase in parasympathetic modulation of RR intervals.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1101-1104
Number of pages4
JournalAmerican Journal of Cardiology
Volume80
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 15 1997

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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