Developmental patterns of heart rate and variability in prematurely-born infants with apnea of prematurity

Early Hum Dev. 1997 Jan 3;47(1):35-50. doi: 10.1016/s0378-3782(96)01767-7.

Abstract

At equivalent post-conceptional ages, prematurely-born infants have higher heart rates and reduced heart rate variability, relative to full-term neonates. Premature birth might exert long-lasting effects on central and peripheral mechanisms that control cardiovascular activity. We assessed development of heart rate and heart rate variability in symptomatic preterm infants up to 6 months of age. Fifty 6.5-h evening recordings of EKG and breathing were obtained from prematurely-born infants (gestational ages: 24-35 weeks). Cardiac R-R intervals were captured with a resolution of +/- 0.5 msec. One-min epochs were selected from three periods of regular respiration in recordings from premature infants and 72 recordings of full-term infants at comparable post-conceptional ages. Mean heart rate and heart rate variability were determined for each recording. At 40 weeks post-conception, prematurely-born infants with apnea of prematurity showed higher heart rates and reduced heart rate variability than did full-term neonates. These differences between premature and full-term infants persisted throughout the next 6 months in those infants born prior to 30 weeks gestation, and in those infants born at 30-35 weeks who experienced respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) during the neonatal period. The findings suggest that premature delivery, or complications thereof, exerts long-lasting effects on cardiac control.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Aging
  • Apnea / physiopathology*
  • Electrocardiography
  • Female
  • Gestational Age
  • Heart Rate / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infant, Premature*
  • Male
  • Respiration
  • Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / physiopathology