ABSTRACT A survey is presented of techniques which transform heart‐rate variability data into a signal that is both visually informative and accessible for analysis. The Instantaneous Heart‐Rate (IHR) signal is introduced, i.e. the signal having the value of the heart rate (inverse interbeat interval) during the interval concerned. The IHR signal differs from the standard Delayed Heart‐Rate (DHR) signal, which is always one beat late. The relationship is discussed between the different representation methods and the Integral Pulse Frequency Modulation (IPFM) model, the latter being a physiologically plausible model for the transformation of a continuous input signal (e.g., nervous influence on the cardiac pacemaker) into a series of events (heartbeats). It is shown that when the IHR signal is used as input of the IPFM model, the event series from which the signal was derived appears at the output. Hence, if the IPFM model is accepted as a model of the pacemaker, the IHR signal may be considered as an approximation of the neural (sympathetic and parasympathetic) influence on the pacemaker. In addition we show that the appearance of the IHR signal is less affected by trigger errors or extrasystoles than the standard DHR signal. It is concluded that the most attractive time‐domain representation of physiological event series consists of the IHR signal, because this signal, being conceptually and computationally simple, is consistent with the IPFM model.
Boer et al. (1985) studied this question.