A simple method for measuring baroreflex sensitivity holds prognostic value in heart failure

Baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) is a powerful prognostic index in patients with previous myocardial infarction [1] or heart failure (HF) [2,3] and a potential therapeutic target [4,5]. However, its measure is not part of the current clinical work-up, mostly because of technical constraints. Recently, a new simple method for BRS estimation based on the ratio between the standard deviations of RR interval and systolic blood pressure (BRS-SD) during a short-term recording has been validated against most non-invasive BRS methods [6].