Heart Rate Variability in Individuals With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

A cross-sectional study was carried out, in which 40 boys, aged 11 to 18 years, were evaluated. The recruitment of groups was carried out at the neuromuscular disease outpatient clinic of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP). The recruited individuals were divided into 4 groups, namely: DMD that used deflazacort (DMD-D); DMD that used Prednisone/Prednisolone (DMD-P); DMD Control with no corticoid use (DMD-C) and Controls with typical development (CTD). The protocol was applied during the evaluation that was carried out at outpatient follow-up visits. To assess the functionality of each patient, the Vignos scales were used to characterize the sample and the Motor Function Measure (MFM) for association with HRV indices. All heart rate records were performed using a cardiofrequencymeter (V800, Polar). After placing the brace and monitor, the individuals were placed in the supine position and remained at rest spontaneously breathing for 25 minutes. For HRV analysis, indexes obtained by linear methods, in the domain of time and frequency, and non-linear methods were used.