Risk of Post-Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Adverse Cardiac Events: What Does the Autonomic Nervous Systems Have to Do with It?

Post percutaneous intervention (PCI) outcomes have improved in the last 10 years due to advancements in equipment, techniques and follow-up. However, whether there is a reduction in fatal and nonfatal MI following PCI is still under discussion. ST-segment resolution (STR) is a current measure to assess PCI outcome but results are variable. Heart rate variability (HRV) has been shown to be an indicator of risk of nonfatal or fatal MI. The current study therefore investigated the changes in HRV following elective PCI. Patients were selected at the Mediclinic Middle East Cardiology Department. Pre-PCI and post-PCI (up to 4 hours) HRV was determined from 5-minute heart rate recordings and analyzed using Kubios software. Mean values for rMSSD, TINN, and SDI, showed significant decreases associated with primarily parasympathetic regulation (p<0.05, whereas DFAal and Stress Indexincreased significantly (p<0.05). Patients were divided into two groups based on a Euclidean paradigm indicating primarily increased stress in the majority of patients. Our results indicate that PCI outcomes are variable and HRV may be a suitable clnical feature to assess short and long term outcomes.