Is hemifacial spasm affected by changes in the heart rate? A study using heart rate variability analysis

Hemifacial spasm (HFS), a movement disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contraction of one side of the face. HFS impairs not only daily activities but also social activities of patients. Because the central etiology of HFS is mechanical compression by offending arteries to the root exit zone (REZ) of the facial nerve (Campbell and Keedy, 1947; Gardner, 1962; McLaughlin et al., 1999), microvascular decompression is a standard surgical treatment, in which the arteries are microsurgically separated from the facial nerve REZ, and provides favorable outcome (Barker et al., 1995; Chung et al., 2000; Samii et al., 2002).

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