Dement Neurocogn Disord.  2015 Sep;14(3):128-134. 10.12779/dnd.2015.14.3.128.

Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Variability in Alzheimer's Disease

• Kim JS
• Park HE
• Oh YS
• An JY
• Park SK
• Han SR
• Park JW
• Yang DW
• Shim YS
• Lee KS

• KMID: 2442989
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12779/dnd.2015.14.3.128

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Altered blood pressure (BP) and heart rate variations (HRVs) have been reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, it is unclear how these two manifestations are associated with AD. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate BP and heart rate variability in AD compared to that in normal controls, patients with subjective memory impairment (SMI), and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
METHODS
Case-control comparisons were made among AD (n=37), MCI (n=24), SMI (n=17), and controls (n=25). All patients underwent clinical and neuropsychological assessments with 24-h ambulatory BP and Holter monitoring.
RESULTS
Patients with AD had higher pulse pressures than those in other groups. In addition, AD patients experienced blunted nocturnal BP dipping associated with declining cognitive status. AD patients also had larger ranges of HRV in parasympathetic domains compared to other groups, especially at night.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that diurnal sympathetic and parasympathetic cardiac variability were significantly disturbed in mild cholinesterase-naive AD patients. This may be an indirect sign of disturbed integrity to the sleep-wake cycle in mild AD.

Keyword

Alzheimer's disease; blood pressure; heart rate; sympathetic; parasympathetic; variation

MeSH Terms

Alzheimer Disease*
Blood Pressure*
Case-Control Studies
Electrocardiography, Ambulatory
Heart Rate*
Heart*
Humans
Memory
Mild Cognitive Impairment

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