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Ectopic beats in heart rate variability analysis: effects of editing on time and frequency domain measures
M A Salo1, H V Huikuri, T Seppänen
1Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Oulu, Kajaanintie 50, FIN-90220 OULU, Finland. misalo@paju.oulu.fi
Insights
Editing R-R intervals impacts heart rate variability (HRV) analysis differently depending on the method used. No single editing approach is ideal for both time-domain and frequency-domain HRV analysis.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Data Science
Background:
- Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis is crucial for assessing cardiac health.
- Various methods exist for correcting biological and technical artifacts in HRV data.
- Limited information is available on how these editing techniques influence HRV outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of different R-R interval editing methods on HRV analysis.
- To compare the effectiveness of zero-degree interpolation, first-degree interpolation, and deletion methods.
- To evaluate these effects on both short-term and long-term HRV recordings in healthy individuals and myocardial infarction (MI) patients.
Main Methods:
- R-R interval data from 10 healthy subjects and 10 MI patients were analyzed.
- Short-term (approx. 5 min) and long-term (approx. 24 hours) recordings were used.
- Three editing techniques were applied: zero-degree interpolation, first-degree interpolation, and deletion without replacement.
Main Results:
- For short-term data, the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDANN) was least affected; 30%-50% data editing showed <5% error.
- Frequency domain analysis revealed significant differences in high-frequency (HF) and low-frequency (LF) components based on editing method.
- Long-term analysis (SDNN) allowed up to 50% editing with <5% error; interpolation methods performed well for spectral components, unlike deletion.
Conclusions:
- The choice and extent of R-R interval editing significantly alter various HRV indices.
- No single ectopic beat editing method is universally suitable for both time-domain and frequency-domain HRV analyses.
- Specific editing strategies should be chosen based on the intended HRV analysis domain.
Background:
Various methods can be used to edit biological and technical artefacts in heart rate variability (HRV), but there is relatively little information on the effects of such editing methods on HRV.
Methods:
The effects of editing on HRV analysis were studied using R-R interval data of 10 healthy subjects and 10 patients with a previous myocardial infarction (MI). R-R interval tachograms of verified sinus beats were analyzed from short-term ( approximately 5 min) and long-term ( approximately 24 hours) recordings by eliminating different amounts of real R-R intervals. Three editing methods were applied to these segments: (1) interpolation of degree zero, (2) interpolation of degree one, and (3) deletion without replacement.
Results:
In time domain analysis of short-term data, the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDANN) was least affected by editing, and 30%-50% of the data could be edited by all the three methods without a significant error (< 5%). In the frequency domain analysis, the method of editing resulted in remarkably different changes and errors for both the high-frequency (HF) and the low-frequency (LF) spectral components. The editing methods also yielded in different results in healthy subjects and AMI patients. In 24-hour HRV analysis, up to 50% could be edited by all methods without an error larger than 5% in the analysis of the standard deviation of normal to normal intervals (SDNN). Both interpolation methods also performed well in the editing of the long-term power spectral components for 24-hour data, but with the deletion method, only 5% of the data could be edited without a significant error.
Conclusions:
The amount and type of editing R-R interval data have remarkably different effects on various HRV indices. There is no universal method for editing ectopic beats that could be used in both the time-domain and the frequency-domain analysis of HRV.