You are seeing this message because your Web browser does not support basic Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.


ABOUT ARCHIVES
Advanced Search

Welcome   | My Account | E-mail Alerts | Access Rights | Sign In


  Vol. 49 No. 11, November 1992 TABLE OF CONTENTS
  Archives
  •  Online Features
  ARTICLE
 This Article
 • Reply to article
 •Send to a friend
 • Save in My Folder
 •Save to citation manager
 •Permissions
 Citing Articles
 •Citing articles on HighWire
 •Contact me when this article is cited
 Related Content
 •Similar articles in this journal

Acute intracranial lesions and respiratory sinus arrhythmia

J. I. Frank, A. H. Ropper and G. Zuniga
Neuromedical/Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

We studied the effects of acute intracranial lesions on the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) with the use of computerized measurements of the ratio of expiratory to inspiratory R-R intervals. The RSA was reduced below the 95th percentile for age in 20 of 27 patients, an average of 2 days after an acute event. Only four patients, without neurological deficits, had a normal RSA. Two patients, with signs of secondary brain-stem compression from a mass, had an increased RSA, without the bradycardia that is usually associated with Cushing's response. Twenty-three patients had their respiratory rate controlled by positive pressure ventilation during testing, and our preliminary findings suggested that this was not responsible for reducing the RSA. Acute intracranial lesions caused a diminished RSA, perhaps by reducing supratentorial influences on vagal cardioinhibitory activity. In contrast, once signs of secondary brain-stem compression occur, the RSA is greatly increased while the heart rate remains unchanged, offering a possible method of noninvasive monitoring for this complication.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Dynamic Behavior of Heart Rate in Ischemic Stroke
Korpelainen et al.
Stroke 1999;30:1008-1013.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Circadian Rhythm of Heart Rate Variability Is Reversibly Abolished in Ischemic Stroke
Korpelainen et al.
Stroke 1997;28:2150-2154.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Reduced Heart Rate Variability After Right-Sided Stroke
Naver et al.
Stroke 1996;27:247-251.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  





HOME | CURRENT ISSUE | PAST ISSUES | TOPIC COLLECTIONS | CME | SUBMIT | SUBSCRIBE | HELP
CONDITIONS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US | SITE MAP
 
© 1992 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.