Current state of the problem of diagnosing cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in the clinical practice (literature review)

This literature review demonstrates the current state of the problem of diagnosing cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN), the advantages and disadvantages of the techniques used, and the possibility of introducing an easily reproducible method.

Material and methods. English-language articles from 2020–2024 using the keywords “cardiac autonomic neuropathy”, “diagnosis” and “study” in Google Scholar, PubMed, Springer search engines were selected for analysis. Among the materials found, the area of interest was the works describing clinical studies on the pathology under study.

Results and discussion. Currently, CAN is rarely diagnosed in clinical practice, despite its prognostic significance. In the analyzed works, CAN diagnosis was performed due to scientific rather than clinical interest, and the diagnostic methods themselves are heterogeneous. Recognized “gold standard” cardiovascular tests are difficult to reproduce on a large scale and in patients with multiple pathologies.

Conclusions. The problem of CAN is not given due attention in practical medicine connectedly the lack of a single easily reproducible diagnostic standard. Spectral analysis of heart rate variability with orthostatic test seems to be a promising method of CAN diagnosis with the possibility to determine the severity of the condition and response to treatment.

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