Cardiovascular variability analysis and baroreflex estimation in patients with type 2 diabetes in absence of any manifest neuropathy

Introduction: Indexes derived from spontaneous heart period (HP) and systolic arterial pressure (SAP) fluctuations can detect autonomic dysfunction in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) associated to cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) or other neuropathies. It is unknown whether HP and SAP variability indexes are sensitive enough to detect the autonomic dysfunction in DM patients without CAN and other neuropathies. Methods: We evaluated 68 males aged between 40 and 65 years. The group was composed by DM type 2 DM with no manifest neuropathy (n = 34) and healthy (H) subjects (n = 34). The protocol consisted of 15 minutes of recording of HP and SAP variabilities at rest in supine position (REST) and after active standing (STAND). The HP power in the high frequency band (HF, from 0.15 to 0.5 Hz), the SAP power in the low frequency band (LF, from 0.04 to 0.15 Hz) and BRS estimated via spectral approach and sequence method were computed. Results: The HF power of HP was low...