Heart rate variability analysis predicts kidney disease

Here's more evidence for the profound value of heart rate variability analysis and the fundamental importance of the regulation of functions throughout the body by the autonomic nervous system. In a study just published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology the authors investigated the correlation between HRV and chronic kidney disease (CKD):

"Autonomic imbalance, a feature of both diabetes and hypertension, may contribute to adverse cardiovascular outcomes. In animal models, sympathetic nerve activity contributes to renal damage but the extent to which autonomic dysfunction precedes the development of CKD and ESRD [end-stage renal disease] in humans is unknown."

They measured a number of parameters of HRV analysis in a population of 13,241 adults for 16 years: and found 199 cases of ESRD and 541 patients of CKD; higher resting heart rate and lower heart rate variability was associated with both.

"Other time and frequency domain measures [of HRV] were similarly and significantly associated with ESRD and CKD-related hospitalizations. These results suggest that autonomic dysfunction may be an important risk factor for ESRD and CKD-related hospitalizations..."

It's hard to think of a clinical test that is easier to perform yet yields more valuable information on the arousal state and capacity of the body to regulate its functions than the heart rate variability analysis.