- Heart Rate Variability and Cardiovascular Dynamic Changes during Local Anesthesia

The effect of different anesthetic drugs on cardiovascular hemodynamics has been studied since the 1960s (Lal et al., 1969; Taylor et al., 1965a,b,c). However, most of these studies focus on the effect of local anesthetic drugs on heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP) and other cardiovascular and hemodynamic parameters, without any in-depth investigation of their effects on heart rate variability (HRV) and/or blood pressure variability (BPV). This could represent a major drawback, as small transient changes that occur due to the application of local anesthetic drugs could be missed if the aforementioned global variables alone are examined. Nevertheless, these studies are useful in providing some indication of hemodynamic and cardiovascular effects caused by the administration of local anesthesia (LA), some of which are summarized in Table 12.1.