Relationship between Three Ayurvedic Doshas and Heart Rate Variability Frequency Bands: A Pilot Study

Abstract

As per Ayurveda disease is consequence of living out of harmony with one’s Prakriti. The Prakriti is innate doshas balance in an individual and imbalance in doshas leads to disease. In Ayurveda diagnosis is done to find the dosha imbalance. Nadi Pariksha or Pulse examination is very important technique. In Nadi Pariksha the radial artery is checked by placing three fingers at the root of thumb. Currently, this technique is subjective and the accuracy of the diagnosis depends upon the expertise and experience of the Ayurvedic physician. In this research we have analyzed the Heart rate variability (HRV) of 25 patients diagnosed by Ayurvedic physician. The analysis is done in frequency domain. The normalized parameters VLF nu, LF nu and HF nu are calculated. The mean value of VLF nu is greater than the mean values of LF nu and HF nu in Vata patients. Similarly we observed in the Pitta patients the mean value of LF nu is greater. We also applied Chi Square test and the value of the P was 0.0042. It may be concluded from the results that the VLF nu is related to Vata and LF nu is related to the Pitta dosha.