Analysis of heart rate variability-related indexes in the interictal period in patients with focal epilepsy

Aims: Changes in cardiac autonomic nervous function have been evaluated by studying the related indexes of heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with focal epilepsy (FE) in the interictal period. Main methods: A total of 30 FE patients who were treated in our department from July 2015 to May 2017, were included into this study. These patients were divided into three pairs of groups: less frequent seizure group and more frequent seizure group; medication group and non-medication group; < 10 years disease group and >= 10 years disease group. In addition, 16 normal healthy subjects were enrolled as the control group. The time domain and frequency domain indexes of HRV indexes between subgroups and the control group were retrospectively analyzed. Key findings: The low-frequency/high-frequency ratio (LF/HF) in the interictal period was higher in the more frequent seizure group than in the control group and less frequent seizure group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, differences in interictal LF/HF and very low frequency (VLF) between the medication group and non-medication group and control group were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Significance: In interictal period FE patients who present with an imbalance in autonomic nervous function, LF/HF can serve as an indicator to evaluate the interictal cardiac sympathetic activity of FE patients. Furthermore, the dynamic observation of changes in the HRV-related indexes of FE patients can prevent the choice of anti epileptic drugs that affect heart function, which is of guiding significance for evaluating autonomic nervous function.