Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Real-Time Cardiac Mapping with a Noninvasive Imageless Electrocardiographic Imaging System
Published on: April 11, 2025
Heart rate asymmetry by Poincaré plots of RR intervals
Przemyslaw Guzik1, Jaroslaw Piskorski, Tomasz Krauze
1Department of Cardiology--Intensive Therapy, University of Medical Sciences in Poznan, Poznan, Poland. pguzik@ptkardio.pl
Abstract:
The Poincaré plot is a widely used method for visualizing and calculating heart rate variability and for investigating the oscillatory nature of heart action. We show that the Poincaré plot produced using physiological data for RR intervals is asymmetric. This suggests that the processes of heart rate acceleration (shortening of consecutive RR intervals) and deceleration (prolongation of successive RR intervals) might be asymmetric. To investigate this phenomenon, we define descriptors quantifying the heart rate asymmetry and present the results of a study involving 5-min ECG recordings of 50 healthy subjects in which, despite of the shortness of the recordings, the asymmetry is clearly visible.
Related Concept Videos
Dysrhythmias IV: Characteristics of Bradyarrhythmias
Dysrhythmias III: Characteristics of Dysrhythmias
ECG Interpretation of Rhythms
Components of the Electrocardiogram
The primary components of a normal ECG waveform in Normal sinus rhythm(NSR) include the P wave, PR interval, QRS complex, ST segment, T wave, and occasionally a U wave.
ECG waveforms are divided by vertical and horizontal lines at standard intervals.
The horizontal axis measures time and rate, and the vertical axis measures amplitude or voltage. When...
Disturbances in Heart Rhythm
Arrhythmias are categorized by their speed, rhythm, and origin. A slow heart...
Pulse rhythm
Conversely, an irregular pulse pattern is termed dysrhythmia, stemming from disruptions in cardiac muscle...
Correlation between ECG and Cardiac Cycle
A cardiac action potential originates in the SA node and spreads throughout the atria and the AV node in approximately 0.03 seconds. This results in the P wave in an ECG and triggers atrial contraction. The action potential is then briefly slowed at the AV node, allowing the atria to contract and fill the ventricles with blood before...
