New approach to studies on ECG dynamics: extraction and analyses of QRS complex irregularity time series

How to extract information intensively from ECGs for the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases and assessment of heart function is a topical subject. Using a method based on the wavelet transform to calculate the irregularity of the QRS complex, which may relate to inotropy, the QRS complex irregularity time series is successfully extracted from original ECG signals. This provides a new approach to studies of ECG dynamics. With the help of non-linear dynamics theory, the QRS complex irregularity time series of eight subjects from the MIT/BIH arrhythmia database are studied qualitatively and quantitatively, and the characteristics of ECG dynamics are analysed extensively. The power spectrum, phase portrait, correlation dimension, largest Lyapunov exponent, time-dependent divergence exponent and complexity measure all verify the fact that ECG dynamics are dominated by an underlying 5-6-dimensional non-linear chaotic system, whose complexity measure is about 0.7. The QRS complex irregularity time series contains abundant information about all parts of the heart and the regulation of the autonomic nervous system, and so further analyses are of great potential theoretical and clinical significance to patho-physiology studies and ambulatory monitoring.