ECG-derived Cheyne-Stokes respiration and periodic breathing in healthy and hospitalized populations

Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) has been investigated primarily in outpatients with heart failure. In this study we compare CSR and periodic breathing (PB) between healthy and cardiac groups.

We compared CSR and PB, measured during 24 hr of continuous 12-lead electrocardiographic (ECG) Holter recording, in a group of 90 hospitalized patients presenting to the emergency department with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) to a group of 100 healthy ambulatory participants. We also examined CSR and PB in the 90 patients presenting with ACS symptoms, divided into a group of 39 (43%) with confirmed ACS, and 51 (57%) with a cardiac diagnosis but non-ACS. SuperECG software was used to derive respiration and then calculate CSR and PB episodes from the ECG Holter data. Regression analyses were used to analyze the data. We hypothesized SuperECG software would differentiate between the groups by detecting less CSR and PB in the healthy group than the group of patients presenting to the emergency department with ACS symptoms.

Hospitalized patients with suspected ACS had 7.3 times more CSR episodes and 1.6 times more PB episodes than healthy ambulatory participants. Patients with confirmed ACS had 6.0 times more CSR episodes and 1.3 times more PB episodes than cardiac non-ACS patients.

Continuous 12-lead ECG derived CSR and PB appear to differentiate between healthy participants and hospitalized patients.