Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate heart rate variability (HRV) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with and without freezing of gait (FOG).

Background: FOG and autonomic dysfunction are common in patients with PD. HRV parasympathetic parameters are reduced in idiopathic PD and related to autonomic dysfunction. Information on the relationship between HRV and FOG are scarce.

Method: Idiopathic PD patients with and without FOG, and age-matched healthy individuals were recruited. Participants were continuously monitored by Equivital physiological monitoring system, which recorded two lead electrocardiograms. Beat-to-beat ventricular interval (RR) series recorded in resting conditions were processed offline to compute heart rate and HRV parameters in the time, frequency, and information domains. HRV parameters were compared among the three groups by using analysis of variance and post-hoc multiple comparisons.

Results: A total of 50 individuals were recruited and 37 were included in the analysis: 15 healthy individuals, 11 patients with PD and FOG, and 11 patients with PD without FOG. Heart rate was increased (P < .05) and time domain (standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals) and frequency domain (low-frequency and high-frequency spectral power) parameters were reduced in idiopathic PD compared to healthy controls (P < .005 and P < .0005, respectively). PD patients with FOG did not display any difference from PD patients without FOG in any measured HRV parameter.

Conclusion: Our study showed that HRV at rest was reduced in PD patients compared to healthy controls; however, there were no differences in PD patients with and without FOG in this condition.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/resting-heart-rate-variability-in-parkinsons-disease-with-and-without-freezing-of-gait/