Cardiovascular control in women with fibromyalgia syndrome: do causal methods provide nonredundant information compared with more traditional approaches?

Author(s)

Zamuner, Antonio Roberto ^[1] ; Porta, Alberto ^{[2, 3, 4]} ; Andrade, Carolina Pieroni ^[1] ; Marchi, Andrea ^[5] ; Forti, Meire ^[1] ; Furlan, Raffaello ^[6] ; Barbic, Franca ^[6] ; Catai, Aparecida Maria ^[1] ; Silva, Ester ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Phys Therapy, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Milan, Dept Biomed Sci Hlth, Milan - Italy

^[3] Ist Ricovero, Milan - Italy

^[4] Cura Carattere Sci Galeazzi Orthoped Inst, Milan - Italy

^[5] Politecn Milan, Dept Elect Informat & Bioengn, I-20133 Milan - Italy

^[6] Univ Milan, Biometra Dept, Humanitas Res Hosp, Internal Med, Rozzano, Milan - Italy

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-REGULATORY INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY; v. 309, n. 1, p. R79-R84, JUL 1 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 8

Abstract

The cardiovascular autonomic control and the baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) have been widely studied in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) patients through the computation of linear indices of spontaneous heart period (HP) and systolic arterial pressure (SAP) variabilities. However, there are many methodological difficulties regarding the quantification of BRS by the traditional indices especially in relation to the issue of causality. This difficulty has been directly tackled via a model-based approach describing the closed-loop HP-SAP interactions and the exogenous influences of respiration. Therefore, we aimed to assess whether the BRS assessed by the model-based causal closed-loop approach during supine and active standing in patients with FMS could provide complementary information to those obtained by traditional indices based on time and frequency domains. The findings of this study revealed that, at difference with the traditional methods to quantify BRS, the causality analysis applied to the HP, SAP, and respiratory series, through the model-based closed-loop approach, detected lower BRS in supine position, as well as a blunted response to the orthostatic stimulus in patients with FMS compared with healthy control subjects. Also, the strength of the causal relation from SAP to HP (i.e., along the cardiac baroreflex) increased during the active standing only in the control subjects. The model-based closed-loop approach proved to provide important complementary information about the cardiovascular autonomic control in patients with FMS. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/22122-5 - Study of the biomechanical, sensorial, cardiorespiratory and quality of life adaptations associated to physical therapy intervention in the fibromyalgic syndrome
• Grantee: Tania de Fatima Salvini
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants