Use of Random Excitation and Spectral Analysis in the Study of Frequency-Dependent Parameters of the Cardiovascular System

If a randomly varying signal or noise is used as input, it is possible to study the input-output relations of a system, over a wide band of frequencies, by the use of power spectrum analysis. This technique has been applied to the cardiovascular system, by deliberately introducing irregularity in the pressure and flow pattern, by random electrical pacing of the heart. Examples are given of the determination, by spectral analysis in the range of 0.25 to 25 cycles/sec, of aortic and femoral arterial impedance in the dog, and also of the transmission ratio for pressure oscillations along the aorta. The results agreed satisfactorily with those obtained by the Fourier analysis of single pulses. When the time scale of the irregularities was made sufficiently great, it was possible to examine aortic impedance in the very low frequency range 0.00125 to 0.125 cycle/sec. In this range the operation of the baroreceptor reflexes became apparent.