Effects of Statin on Arrhythmia and Heart Rate Variability in Healthy Persons With 48‐Hour Sleep Deprivation

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that sleep deprivation is associated with cardiac autonomic disorder, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Statins have significant cardiovascular protective effects in patients with cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of statins on arrhythmia and heart rate variability in young healthy persons after 48‐hour sleep deprivation. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study enrolled 72 young healthy participants aged 26.5±3.5 years. All participants received 48‐hour continuous ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring. Arrhythmia, time, and frequency domain parameters were analyzed for all participants. The primary end point, low/high frequency ratio, was significantly lower in the statin group than in the control group (2.48±1.12 versus 3.02±1.23, P<0.001). After 48‐hour sleep deprivation, low frequency—the frequency of premature atrial complexes and premature ventricular complexes—was significantly decreased in the statin group compared with the control group (P<0.05). There was also a significant increase in high frequency in the statin group compared with the control group (P<0.05). There was a significant decrease in serum high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein and malondialdehyde levels after 48‐hour sleep deprivation in the statin group compared with the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Statin use might be associated with improvement in arrhythmia and heart rate variability in healthy persons with 48‐hour sleep deprivation. This finding should be confirmed by larger scale trials. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02496962.