Hypothesis
-Participants with a history of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) will exhibit lower heart rate variability (HRV) compared to those with no history of TBI.
-Greater TBI severity will be associated with lower HRV.
Summary
Planned Analysis:
This analysis will form the basis of the second chapter of my PhD exploring cardiovascular health following TBI, with the intention of publishing the findings in collaboration with the cardiovascular team.
Aims:
-To investigate the relationship between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and heart rate variability (HRV), specifically:
-To determine whether participants with a history of TBI exhibit lower HRV compared to those without a history of TBI.
-To examine whether greater TBI severity is associated with lower HRV.
Methods:
Initially, I will assess baseline HRV data (from PPG recordings) across TBI groups using linear regression, adjusting for age, sampling rank, ethnicity, and time since injury, in line with previous analyses conducted by the cardiovascular team. Once available, I also plan to request follow-up HRV data (from ECG recordings at FU1) to explore additional HRV measures, including SDNN, LF, and HF.
Keywords
TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury, HRV, Heart Rate Variability, Cardiovascular