HEART-RATE AND HEART-RATE-VARIABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE CORONARYHEART-DISEASE CLASSIFIED ON BORTNERS SCALE AS TYPE-A AND TYPE-B

We investigated heart rate and heart-rate variability in 82 patients, 60 men and 22 women (M=54 yr., SD=9) with acute coronary heart disease and scores on Bortner's scale at hospital admission and discharge. 48 patients were classified by their scores on Bortner's scale as Type A and 34 as Type B. Patients with acute coronary heart disease classifi ed as Type A had a significantly lower mean heart rate than patients w ith acute coronary heart disease classified as Type B during the day a t hospital admission and discharge and during the night at hospital di scharge. Mean heart-rate variability was also significantly higher in the patients with acute coronary heart disease classified as Type A th an in the patients with acute coronary heart disease classified as Typ e B during the day at hospital admission and discharge. The difference s between two groups on the average heart rate and heart-rate variabil ity were not significant during the night at hospital admission. In ou r study the patients with acute coronary heart disease classified by s cores on Bortner's scale as Type A had higher vagal tone and more favo rable sympathovagal balance than patients classified as Type B. This f inding may have implications for the treatment of patients with acute coronary heart disease and may suggest some explanation about the prot ective effect of Type A behavior also.