CardioRVAR: A New R Package and Shiny Application for the Evaluation of Closed-Loop Cardiovascular Interactions

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Autonomic Neurophysiology
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Accurate assessment of cardiovascular interactions and baroreflex sensitivity is crucial in human physiology.
• Existing tools may not offer a comprehensive evaluation of these complex physiological systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce CardioRVAR, a novel R package for evaluating closed-loop cardiovascular interactions.
• Demonstrate the utility of CardioRVAR for estimating baroreflex sensitivity from continuous non-invasive recordings.
• Highlight the software's application in clinical and scientific research.

Main Methods:

• Development of the CardioRVAR R package utilizing established algorithms.
• Review of the algorithms implemented within CardioRVAR for data analysis.
• Discussion of the package's workflow and application in diverse clinical settings.

Main Results:

• CardioRVAR provides a complete evaluation of cardiovascular interactions.
• The package accurately estimates baroreflex sensitivity from physiological data.
• Application in three clinical settings demonstrated the tool's potential.

Conclusions:

• CardioRVAR is a valuable open-source software tool for cardiovascular and autonomic neurophysiology research.
• The package supports clinical and scientific applications, with potential for future development.
• Accessible via GitHub, CardioRVAR and its Shiny application (CardioRVARapp) promote collaborative research.