Psychosocial factors predict the development and course of cardiovascular disease, perhaps through sympathetic and parasympathetic mechanisms. At rest, heart rate (HR) is under parasympathetic control, often measured as high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV). During stress, HR is influenced jointly by parasympathetic and sympathetic processes, the latter often quantified as pre-ejection period (PEP). In studies of cardiovascular risk factors that involve social interaction (e.g. marital conflict), HF-HRV might be altered by speech artifacts, weakening its validity as a measure of parasympathetic activity. To evaluate this possibility, we tested associations of HF-HRV and PEP with HR at rest and across periods of marital conflict interaction that varied in experimentally-manipulated degrees of speech in 104 couples. At rest, only HF-HRV was independently related to HR, for both husbands and wives. During speaking, listening, and recovery periods, husbands' and wives' HF-HRV and PEP change independently predicted HR change. These findings support interpretation of HF-HRV as a parasympathetic index during stressful social interactions that may confer risk for cardiovascular disease.

中文翻译：

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婚姻冲突期间自主神经对心率的影响：与高频心率变异性和心脏射血前期的关联

心理社会因素可能通过交感神经和副交感神经机制预测心血管疾病的发展和进程。静息时，心率 (HR) 受副交感神经控制，通常用高频心率变异性 (HF-HRV) 来衡量。在压力期间，HR 受到副交感神经和交感神经过程的共同影响，后者通常被量化为射血前期 (PEP)。在涉及社会互动（例如婚姻冲突）的心血管危险因素的研究中，HF-HRV 可能会被语音伪影改变，削弱其作为副交感神经活动量度的有效性。为了评估这种可能性，我们在 104 对夫妇中测试了 HF-HRV 和 PEP 与休息时和婚姻冲突互动时期的 HR 之间的关联，这些互动在实验操纵的言语程度方面有所不同。在休息，对于丈夫和妻子，只有 HF-HRV 与 HR 独立相关。在口语、听力和恢复期，丈夫和妻子的 HF-HRV 和 PEP 变化独立预测 HR 变化。这些发现支持将 HF-HRV 解释为压力社会互动期间的副交感神经指数，这可能会带来心血管疾病的风险。