Studies of heart rate variability and end-stage renal disease
patients have shown a decrement in heart rate variability. Vita et al. [27] demonstrated in 30 uraemic patients that 53% of patients had autonomic dysfunction reflected as diminished heart rate variability. Moreover, Fukuta et al. [8] in a prospective large study included 120 patients on regular haemodialysis, reported that decrease in some heart rate variability measures, particularly those reflecting long-term variability, are independent predictors of cardiac death during long term follow-up in patients on chronic haemodialysis.