Findings from an exploratory study published in Metabolites support that heart rated modifications occur during nocturnal hypoglycemia in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) whose blood glucose was detected by flash glucose monitoring devices and heart rate was measured by wrist-worn fitness trackers. With a combination of information from blood glucose and heart rate measurements having been proposed to investigate heart rate changes related to nocturnal hypoglycemia episodes in pediatric patients with T1D, researchers sought to examine whether such measurement could help improve hypoglycemia prediction. Children and adolescents with T1D were monitored for an average of 194 days using the above-noted devices to compare heart rate values recorded in the hour before nocturnal hypoglycemia episodes with those recorded during sleep intervals without hypoglycemia. Behavior after nocturnal hypoglycemia was also investigated. Among participants, 67% showed a statistically significant difference between the before-hypoglycemia and the no-hypoglycemia heart rate distributions. In each of these cases, the before-hypoglycemia heart rate median value was higher than the no-hypoglycemia heart rate media value. In nearly all cases, heart rate values remained higher after the hypoglycemia episode when compared with no-hypoglycemia sleep intervals. “The identification of specific [heart rate] patterns can be helpful to improve [nocturnal hypoglycemia] detection and prevent fatal events,” write the study authors.
