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Impaired cardiac autonomic nervous control after cardiac bypass surgery for congenital heart disease^,

^a Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, Alexandra Parade, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
^b The Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill, Glasgow, UK
^c Department of Medical Statistics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 141 211 5388.

E-mail address: mcglonelaura{at}hotmail.com (L. McGlone).

We undertook a study to describe changes in heart rate variability (HRV) postoperatively in children undergoing cardiac bypass surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD). HRV was recorded for a 1-h period preoperatively and a 24-h period postoperatively in 20 children with CHD. We found a highly significant reduction in HRV in both time and frequency domain indices compared to preoperative values, which was sustained throughout the 24-h study period. There was a negative correlation between both time and frequency domain HRV measurements and length of cardiac bypass. HRV is reduced postoperatively and correlates with cardiac bypass time. Length of cardiac bypass time may be one mechanism whereby HRV is reduced following surgery.

Key Words: Cardiopulmonary bypass; Congenital; Autonomic nervous system; Heart rate