How predictable is heart rate variability in Brazilian patients with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy?

•MTLE patients shows lower HRV than healthy controls;•RR, rMSSD, SDNN, LF, HF, and LF/HF indices are reduced in MTLE patients;•HRV is negatively associated with disease duration in MTLE patients;•Disease duration in years predicts 11% to 22% of HRV indices variation. This study aimed to compare heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) with healthy controls and to analyze their clinical and sociodemographic variables predictive for HRV. Thirty-nine consecutive patients with drug-resistant MTLE were included in the study. The control group included twenty-seven healthy participants matched by age and gender. Seven HRV indices (HR, RR, rMSSD, SDNN, LF, HF, and LF/HF) were compared between patients and controls. The clinical and sociodemographic variables independently associated with the HRV indices were identified by multiple linear regression. In comparison with controls, the patients with MTLE showed a significant reduction in RR, rMSSD, SDNN, LF, HF, and LF/HF indices (t value 1.97–5.97, p