Heart rate variability: a novel biomarker for agitation propensity in Alzheimer’s disease?

Agitation, a common symptom in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), may be related to impaired emotion regulation capacity with involvement of autonomic networks. Heart rate variability (HRV), an index of integrity of neural networks involved in autonomic function and emotion regulation, could be a potential marker of agitation propensity. We investigated the cross‐sectional and longitudinal association between HRV and agitation prevalence in AD using the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study cohort that followed up participants from 1987–2013.