Citation

Riediker M, Herbst MC, Devlin RB, Griggs TR, Bromberg PA, Cascio WE. Ann. Noninvasive. Electrocardiol. 2005; 10(1): 83-85.

Affiliation

Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma and Lung Biology School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. michael.riediker@alumni.ethz.ch

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Futura Pub. Co.)

DOI

10.1111/j.1542-474X.2005.00612.x

PMID

15649242

Abstract

BACKGROUND: On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the United States. By coincidence, a North Carolina highway patrol trooper was wearing an ambulatory ECG Holter monitor at this time as part of an air pollution study. METHODS: Heart rate variability parameters were analyzed: standard deviation of normal to normal beat intervals (SDNN) and percentage of interval differences >50 ms (PNN50). RESULTS: The trooper's heart rate variability changed immediately after learning about the terrorist attacks. Heart rate increased and PNN50 decreased, while SDNN increased strongly. CONCLUSIONS: These changes suggest strong emotional sympathetic stress associated with parasympathetic withdrawal in response to the news about the terrorist attack.

Language: en