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Animals
Volume 15
Issue 23
10.3390/ani15233449
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Evaluation of Changes in Heart Rate Variability Associated with Puppy Growth Using Phase-Rectified Signal Averaging (PRSA) and Non-Gaussianity Index

by
Rio Hayashi
1,
Mizuki Hasegawa
1,
Akari Hatanaka
1,
Mandour Ahmed Said
2,
Miki Hirose
1,
Kazumi Shimada
3,
Lina Hamabe
4,
Ken Takahashi
5 and
Ryou Tanaka
1,*
1
Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
2
Department of Animal Medicine (Internal Medicine), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
3
Veterinary Surgery, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
4
Veterinary Clinical Oncology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
5
Department of Pediatrics, Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital, Chiba 279-0021, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2025, 15(23), 3449; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15233449 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 22 October 2025 / Revised: 26 November 2025 / Accepted: 27 November 2025 / Published: 29 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Veterinary Clinical Studies)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity through nonlinear mechanisms, including complex beat-to-beat fluctuations and chaos-like dynamics of healthy cardiac rhythms. However, conventional HRV indices often show inconsistent interpretations of sympathetic activity across studies, making its evaluation difficult. Recently, nonlinear indices such as Acceleration Capacity (AC), Deceleration Capacity (DC), and the non-Gaussianity index have been introduced to separately evaluate sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous activity. We hypothesized that these indices are applicable in dogs and could reflect age-related changes in ANS function. This study provides the first longitudinal evaluation of nonlinear HRV indices, including AC, DC, and the non-Gaussianity index, during puppy growth, highlighting new insights into autonomic maturation in young dogs. HRV was longitudinally measured in eight healthy puppies (4 to 12 months old) of various breeds every two months. HRV analysis was conducted during sleep using 48-hour Holter ECG recordings. We applied frequency-domain (nHF, LF/HF), time-domain (SDNN, RMSSD), geometric (SD1, SD2, SD1/SD2), and nonlinear analyses (AC, DC, non-Gaussianity index). Parasympathetic indicators (RMSSD, SD1) and overall HRV indices (SDNN, SD2) significantly increased with age, while the sympathetic indicator AC significantly decreased. No significant changes were observed in nHF, LF/HF, SD1/SD2, DC, or the non-Gaussianity index. HRV analysis suggests that puppies are initially sympathetic-dominant, shifting toward parasympathetic dominance as they grow. AC may serve as a useful marker of sympathetic activity in young dogs, whereas DC and the non-Gaussianity index may provide stable ANS assessments regardless of age.
Keywords: dog; heart rate variability; growth; phase-rectified signal averaging (PRSA); non-Gaussianity of HRV; echocardiogram; ECG; cardiology; veterinary medicine dog; heart rate variability; growth; phase-rectified signal averaging (PRSA); non-Gaussianity of HRV; echocardiogram; ECG; cardiology; veterinary medicine

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MDPI and ACS Style

Hayashi, R.; Hasegawa, M.; Hatanaka, A.; Said, M.A.; Hirose, M.; Shimada, K.; Hamabe, L.; Takahashi, K.; Tanaka, R. Evaluation of Changes in Heart Rate Variability Associated with Puppy Growth Using Phase-Rectified Signal Averaging (PRSA) and Non-Gaussianity Index. Animals 2025, 15, 3449. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15233449

AMA Style

Hayashi R, Hasegawa M, Hatanaka A, Said MA, Hirose M, Shimada K, Hamabe L, Takahashi K, Tanaka R. Evaluation of Changes in Heart Rate Variability Associated with Puppy Growth Using Phase-Rectified Signal Averaging (PRSA) and Non-Gaussianity Index. Animals. 2025; 15(23):3449. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15233449

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hayashi, Rio, Mizuki Hasegawa, Akari Hatanaka, Mandour Ahmed Said, Miki Hirose, Kazumi Shimada, Lina Hamabe, Ken Takahashi, and Ryou Tanaka. 2025. "Evaluation of Changes in Heart Rate Variability Associated with Puppy Growth Using Phase-Rectified Signal Averaging (PRSA) and Non-Gaussianity Index" Animals 15, no. 23: 3449. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15233449

APA Style

Hayashi, R., Hasegawa, M., Hatanaka, A., Said, M. A., Hirose, M., Shimada, K., Hamabe, L., Takahashi, K., & Tanaka, R. (2025). Evaluation of Changes in Heart Rate Variability Associated with Puppy Growth Using Phase-Rectified Signal Averaging (PRSA) and Non-Gaussianity Index. Animals, 15(23), 3449. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15233449

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