Cardioventilatory coupling in heart rate variability: the value of standard analytical techniques

In a group of spontaneously breathing anaesthetized subjects, we examined the ability of simple spectral and non-linear methods to detect the presence of cardioventilatory coupling in heart rate time series. Using the proportional Shannon entropy (H(RI-1)) of the RI(-1) interval (interval between inspiration and the preceding ECG R wave) as a measure of coupling, we found no correlation between H(RI-1) and either the fractal dimension or approximate entropy of the heart rate time series. We also observed no difference in the distribution of heart rate variability (HRV) spectral power in three frequency ranges (high, 0.15-0.45 Hz; low, 0.08-0.15 Hz; very low, 0.02-0.08 Hz) between uncoupled epochs and coupling patterns I, III and IV. Because of its association with low breathing frequencies, pattern II coupling epochs showed exaggerated low-frequency power as the high-frequency 'respiratory' peak fell into the low-frequency range. We conclude that coupling pattern is largely independent of autonomic tone and that these standard methods of HRV analysis are limited in their ability to detect the presence of cardioventilatory coupling in heart rate time series.