Heartbeat Dynamics Analysis under Cold-Pressure Test using Wavelet p-Leader Non-Gaussian Multiscale Expansions

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2019 Jul:2019:2023-2026. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2019.8856653.

Abstract

Multiscale and multifractal (MF) analyses have been proven an effective tool for the characterisation of heartbeat dynamics in physiological and pathological conditions. However, pre-processing methods for the unevenly sampled heartbeat interval series are known to affect the estimation of MF properties. In this study, we employ a recently proposed method based on wavelet p-leaders MF spectra to estimate MF properties from cardiovascular variability series, which are also pre-processed through an inhomogeneous point-process modelling. Particularly, we exploit a non-Gaussian multiscale expansion to study changes in heartbeat dynamics as a response to a sympathetic elicitation given by the cold-pressor test. By comparing MF estimates from raw heartbeat series and the point-process model, results suggest that the proposed modelling provides features statistically discerning between stress and resting condition at different time scales. These findings contribute to a comprehensive characterization of autonomic nervous system activity on cardiovascular control during cold-pressor elicitation.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Autonomic Nervous System*
  • Biometry
  • Cardiovascular System*
  • Heart Rate
  • Humans
  • Models, Statistical
  • Rest