[Integral characteristics of the eletrical generator of the human heart]

Integral characteristics of the cardiac electrical generator, namely the dipole moment vector, position of the moving electrical center and the complexity parameter (relative quadrupolar potential), are presented for a group of healthy middle-aged men. The characteristics are determined as a result of mathematical processing of electrical potential distribution on the torso surface and geometrical parameters of this surface in a digital computer. The values of the surface potentials and coordinates were obtained by means of experimental measurements using a special automatized measuring system for investigating the cardiac electrical field. Main qualitative properties of the integral characteristics and their possible diagnostic significance are discussed.