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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Lumped-Parameter and Finite Element Modeling of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction
Published on: February 13, 2021
Fractal dimension in health and heart failure
Frank Beckers1, Bart Verheyden, Kurt Couckuyt
1Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology, Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium. frank.beckers@med.kuleuven.be
Background:
Non-linear analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) can give additional information about autonomic control of the heart rate. This study applied the fractal dimension (FD) in a congestive heart failure (CHF) population.
Methods:
FD and HRV were evaluated in a healthy population (n=21) and an end-stage heart failure population (n=21) using 1-h segments during the day and night from Holter recordings.
Results:
CHF patients presented a loss of circadian variation in both FD and conventional time- and frequency-domain HRV indices. FD was higher in the CHF population both during the day and night. In the CHF population the correlation between FD and high-frequency power of HRV was lost.
Conclusion:
Day-night variations of heart rate fluctuations are lost in heart failure. Changes in FD reflecting physiological and pathophysiological changes were observed.
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