Haemodynamic responses in heart rate and blood pressure to right supine carotid sinus massage in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies, Alzheimer’s disease, and case controls
| Variable | DLB | AD | Control | Significance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DLB v AD | DLB v control | AD v control | ||||
| For continuous variables (age and blood pressure), pairwise comparisons between groups were made using an independent sample t test, and for binary variables pairwise comparisons were made using a χ2 test. A Mann–Whitney U test was used for comparison of RR interval response. | ||||||
| AD, Alzheimer’s disease; CICSH, cardioinhibitory carotid sinus hypersensitivity (⩾3 s asystole in response to carotid sinus massage); CSM, carotid sinus massage; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; DLB, dementia with Lewy bodies; SBP, systolic blood pressure; VDCSH, vasodepressor carotid sinus hypersensitivity (⩾30 mm Hg fall in systolic blood pressure when patients with CICSH were excluded from the analysis). | ||||||
| n | 38 | 52 | 31 | |||
| RR interval response (ms) (median) | 3370 | 1570 | 1600 | p<0.001, z = 3.4 | p<0.001, z = 3.2 | p = 0.49, z = 0.69 |
| Range | 640 to 9400 | 720 to 7800 | 720 to 3300 | |||
| Fall in SBP during CSM (mm Hg) (mean (SD)) | 40 (22) | 30 (19) | 24 (19) | p = 0.017, t = 2.4, df = 88 | p<0.002, t = 3.2, df = 77 | p = 0.21, t = 1.3, df = 81 |
| Number with CICSH | 12 (31.5%) | 6 (11.5%) | 1 (3.2%) | p = 0.02, χ2 = 5.5, df = 1 | p = 0.003, χ2 = 7.2, df = 1 | p = 0.19, χ2 = 0.8, df = 1 |
| Number with VDCSH | 10/26 (38%) | 12/46 (26%) | 11/30 (37%) | p = 0.27, χ2 = 0.69, df = 1 | p = 0.89, χ2 = 0.004, df = 1 | p = 0.33, χ2 = 0.53, df = 1 |
| Fall in SBP in subjects without CICSH (mm Hg) | 38 (19) | 27 (18) | 24 (19) | p = 0.02, t = 2.3, df = 88 | p<0.01, t = 0.26, df = 77 | p = 0.51, t = 0.66, df = 81 |