To study nervous regulation of cardiac rhythm (CR) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS).
Nervous regulation of cardiac rhythm was studied in 57 patients with RA and MS vs 40 healthy subjects.
It was found that nervous regulation of CR in RA and MS patients at rest is characterized by imbalance of functions of the autonomic nervous system with enhancement of ergotropic effects in patients with RA and deficiency of trophotropic impacts in growing ergotropic component in patients with MS. Stress tests led to dysfunction of CR central regulation with disturbed activity of the subcortical nervous centers (SNC) and autonomic maintenance of the processes, were characterized in emotional stress by insufficient activity of SNC and enhancement of parasympathetic effects in RA patients, hyperactivation of SNC with intensification of sympathetic impacts in MS patients manifesting in destabilizing effect of the sympathetic nervous system in both groups of patients.
The findings should be taken into consideration when vegetotropic drugs are used in the treatment of RA and MS patients.