PD474 - EFFECTS OF A NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN ADULTS WITH HYPERTENSION

PD474

EFFECTS OF A NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN ADULTS WITH HYPERTENSION

T. P. Minari^1,*, J. F. Vilela-martin ², L. N. Cosenso-Martin ², J. C. Yugar-toledo², L. P. Pisani¹

¹Bioscience, Federal University of São Paulo, Santos, ²Internal Medicine, State Faculty of Medicine of São José do Rio Preto, São José do Rio Preto, Brazil

Rationale: Heart rate variability (HRV) is an established marker of autonomic regulation and cardiovascular risk and is frequently reduced in individuals with hypertension. Whether nutritional strategies can selectively modulate HRV parameters in this population remains insufficiently explored.

Methods: In this 12-month controlled study, 40 adults with diagnosed hypertension were allocated to a structured nutritional intervention focused on diet quality and caloric control (n = 20) or to a control group receiving standard medical care (n = 20). HRV was assessed at baseline and after 12 months using 24-hour Holter monitoring. Time-domain indices included the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN) and the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD). Frequency-domain measures comprised low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), and the LF/HF ratio. Between- and within-group comparisons were performed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey’s post hoc test, adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and antihypertensive medication use (p ≤ 0.05).

Results: The intervention group demonstrated a significant increase in SDNN (+28 ms; p = 0.019) after 12 months, whereas no significant changes were observed in RMSSD, LF, HF, or the LF/HF ratio. The control group showed no significant changes in any HRV parameter. Improvement in SDNN was moderately correlated with reductions in systolic blood pressure (r = −0.41; p = 0.015).

Conclusion: A nutritional intervention was associated with improvement in SDNN, a global HRV marker, in adults with hypertension, while other autonomic indices remained unchanged. These findings indicate a selective effect of dietary strategies on cardiac autonomic modulation, suggesting a potential contribution to cardiovascular risk reduction without evidence of a generalized improvement in HRV risk.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared