Influence of sickness condition on diurnal rhythms of heart rate and heart rate variability in cows.

Parameters of heart rate variability would explain changes in heart rate during the disease status in cows and to evaluate whether such changes might provide a more sensitive and quantitative indicator of these conditions than crude indices. For this purpose, we recorded electrocardiograms for 24 hr using a Holter-type electrocardiograph and applied power spectral analysis of heart rate variability in both five clinically healthy and four hospitalized cows. The significant findings of the current investigation were that the diurnal variations of autonomic nervous function are abolished in cows that are sick. This abnormal rhythm was induced by predominant parasympathetic inhibition in these cows. Therefore, the heart rate variability may be a useful indicator of sickness condition in cows.