Why the study?
Does fractal dimension and heart rate variability differ between patients with end-stage heart failure and healthy individuals?
Does fractal dimension and heart rate variability differ between patients with end-stage heart failure and healthy individuals?
End-stage heart failure is associated with a loss of circadian variation in heart rate fluctuations and higher fractal dimension compared to healthy individuals.
BACKGROUND: Non-linear analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) can give additional information about autonomic control of the heart rate. This study applied the fractal dimension (FD) in a congestive heart failure (CHF) population. METHODS: FD and HRV were evaluated in a healthy population (n=21) and an end-stage heart failure population (n=21) using 1-h segments during the day and night from Holter recordings. RESULTS: CHF patients presented a loss of circadian variation in both FD and conventional time- and frequency-domain HRV indices. FD was higher in the CHF population both during the day and night. In the CHF population the correlation between FD and high-frequency power of HRV was lost. CONCLUSION: Day-night variations of heart rate fluctuations are lost in heart failure. Changes in FD reflecting physiological and pathophysiological changes were observed.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Beckers et al. (2006) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: