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Frequency domain assessment of the coupling strength between ventricular repolarization duration and heart period
Alberto Porta1, Vlasta Bari, Fabio Badilini
1Department of Technologies for Health, Galeazzi Orthopedic Institute, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. alberto.porta@unimi.it
Abstract:
We test the hypothesis that the degree of correlation between ventricular repolarization duration (VRD) and heart period (HP) carries information on cardiac autonomic regulation. The degree of correlation was assessed in the frequency domain using squared coherence function during an experimental protocol known to gradually induce a shift of sympathovagal balance toward sympathetic predominance (ie, graded head-up tilt). We observed a progressive decrease of squared coherence with tilt table inclination, thus confirming the working hypothesis. The VRD-HP uncoupling occurs in the high-frequency band, centered on the respiratory rate, thus suggesting that vagal withdrawal is responsible for the VRD-HP uncoupling.
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