QJM vol. 98 no. 2 © Association of Physicians 2005; all rights reserved.
Review |
Heart rate variability measurements and the prediction of ventricular arrhythmias
From the Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, and 1Cardiodigital Ltd, Elvingston Science Centre, Gladsmuir, UK
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
 |
Introduction |
|---|
Heart rate variability (HRV) is the temporal variation between sequences of consecutive heartbeats. On a standard electrocardiogram (ECG), the maximum upwards deflection of a normal QRS complex is at the peak of the R wave (Figure 1), and the duration between two adjacent R wave peaks is termed the R-R interval. The ECG signal requires editing before HRV analysis can be performed, a process requiring the removal of all non-sinus-node-originating beats. The resulting period between adjacent QRS complexes resulting from sinus node depolarizations is termed the N-N (normal-normal) interval.1 HRV is the measurement of the variability of the N-N intervals.
| |||||||||||
Although counter-intuitive, it is possible that HRV confers a survival advantage. Any system exhibiting intrinsic variability is primed to respond rapidly and appropriately to demands placed upon it.
HRV is a measure of the balance between sympathetic mediators of heart rate
|
The history of HRV |
|---|
|
Problems with measuring HRV |
|---|
|
Measuring HRV |
|---|
|
HRV and the onset of VTAs |
|---|
|
Conclusions and further work |
|---|
Address correspondence to Dr M.J. Reed, Emergency Department, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, 51 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4SA. e-mail: mattreed1@hotmail.com
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  R. Ranpuria, M. Hall, C. T. Chan, and M. Unruh Heart rate variability (HRV) in kidney failure: measurement and consequences of reduced HRV Nephrol. Dial. Transplant., February 1, 2008; 23(2): 444 - 449. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|