Signal Processing for Heart Rate Variability: Part I

Authors:

Butta Singh (Guru Nanak Dev University, Regional Campus, Jalandhar)

B.S. Saini (National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar)

Dilbag Singh (National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar)

Keywords: HRV, Lomb transform, Ectopic beats, BRS, Spectral analysis.

Abstract:

Over the last century, it has been established that the shapes and frequencies of ECG waves can reveal abnormalities in the heart's anatomy or function. Beyond the peaks and valleys of an ECG recording, there lies a treasure of information about the heart rate patterns that can identify patients at high risk of autonomic disorders and cardiac problems. The heart rate variability (HIRV) is a reliable reflection of many physiological factors modulating the normal rhythm of heart, provides a powerful means of observing the interplay between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Despite the intensive research efforts, clinical use of cardiovascular variability analysis is still limited, as a number of topics remain relatively unresolved. This is largely due to the general complexity of the human physiology that is reflected in the signals. This complexity gives rise to large inter-subject variability and disposes the signal to measurement artifacts and noise due to other physiological activities. The most influencing biological artifacts in ECG recording are the ectopic beats. This paper gives a comprehensive survey and general backgrounds of research and development of time-domain and frequency-domain analysis techniques of HR and the advancements in the methods used for ectopic beat replacement. Moreover; currently there is considerable interest in the possibility of measuring baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) by non-invasive methods to improve the clinical applicability and versatility of BRS assessment. The present study
also shed light on the various approaches to analyze BRS.