Baroreflex modulation of the cardiovascular system: new insights from the joint analysis of blood pressure and heart rate signals

This paper focuses on a number of methods for the analysis of the relationship between the arterial baroreflex and different components of blood pressure and heart rate variability. Broad-band spectral analysis techniques have allowed us to obtain experimental evidence that the arterial baroreflex exerts its influence not only on fast but also on slow components of blood pressure and heart rate, i.e., on components with periods longer than 60 sec. Focusing on faster changes in blood pressure and heart rate, both time domain and frequency domain techniques have been developed to track the sensitivity of baroreflex heart rate modulation over time, either in laboratory or in daily life conditions. These approaches have considerably broadened our understanding of the role of baroreflex modulation of the heart and peripheral circulation in a number of pathological and physiological conditions.