SynthesisMedicine2025
The role of heart rate variability in acute mountain sickness: A meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of acute high-altitude exposure on heart rate variability: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Pooled it
- Altitude-related variations in heart rate variability among native Sikkimese: A cross-sectional study.The Indian journal of medical research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAcute mountain sickness (AMS) is associated with symptoms arising from an individual's failure to acclimatize to high-altitude environments characterized by hypobaric hypoxia. Heart rate variability (HRV) has been proposed as a potential predictor of AMS, but results from individual studies have been inconsistent. Therefore, this study investigated HRV before and after ascent to provide a more comprehensive review of the relationship between HRV and AMS.
methodsWe conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE, PubMed, and Google Scholar from inception to August 2023. Studies measuring HRV in relation to AMS were included. The quality of studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale.
resultsInitially, 153 trials were identified through our search strategy. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising a total of 329 participants. Before ascent, individuals who developed AMS showed significantly higher percentage of successive R-R intervals that differ by more than 50 ms compared with those who did not develop AMS (standardized mean difference = 0.40, 95% confidence interval: [0.11 to 0.69]). After ascent, the AMS group exhibited significantly lower standard deviation of normal-to-normal R-R intervals (standardized mean difference = -0.41, 95% confidence interval: [-0.69 to -0.13]). Other HRV parameters, including low-frequency and high-frequency power, showed trends toward lower values in the AMS group but did not reach statistical significance.
conclusionThis meta-analysis proves that certain HRV parameters, particularly percentage of successive R-R intervals that differ by more than 50 ms before ascent and standard deviation of normal-to-normal R-R intervals after ascent, may be associated with AMS development. These findings suggest that HRV analysis could potentially be used as a tool for predicting and monitoring AMS. However, further research is needed to establish definitive clinical guidelines.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.