Summary
General anesthesia significantly suppresses HRV, with recovery of full autonomic function taking hours to days depending on the procedure and individual factors.
Methods
Continuous HRV monitoring through surgical procedures
Key Findings
- Both sympathetic and parasympathetic HRV components decrease
- Heart rate stabilizes faster than full HRV recovery
- Baroreflex function may take 24+ hours to recover
- Clinical hypnosis may preserve vagal activity
- Remote ischemic preconditioning may improve HRV
Limitations
Many anesthetic agents and protocols exist
What This Means for You
After surgery with general anesthesia, give your autonomic system time to recover. Low HRV for several days post-surgery is normal. Use HRV trends to track your recovery progress.
Source
Read the original paper in Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology ↗
Added to HRV Zone: 2025-01-10