Relationship between Heart Rate Variability and Distribution of Enlarged Perivascular Spaces in the Brain

Background The enlarged perivascular space (EPVS) is closely associated with cognitive dysfunction, affective disorder, stroke, and adverse outcomes after stroke. So early detection and treatment of EPVS are extremely important. Objective To investigate the relationship between heart rate variability (HRV) and the distribution of EPVS in the brain. Methods One hundred and ninety-nine inpatients with complete examination results of 24-hour ambulatory ECG and brain MRI were selected from Department of Neurology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2020 to May 2022. The sum of EPVS was assessed, and by the sum of EPVS (severity score of EPVS) in basal ganglia region (BG-EPVS), the patients were divided into 3 groups: mild BG-EPVS group〔visual PVS rating scale score developed by Potter (Potter score) =1, 126 cases〕, moderate BG-EPVS group (Potter score=2, 46 cases), severe BG-EPVS group (Potter score=3-4, 27 cases), and by the sum of EPVS in centrum semiovale region (CS-EPVS), the