Long-range anticorrelations and non-Gaussian behavior of the heartbeat

Phys Rev Lett. 1993 Mar 1;70(9):1343-6. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.70.1343.

Abstract

We find that the successive increments in the cardiac beat-to-beat intervals of healthy subjects display scale-invariant, long-range anticorrelations (up to 10(4) heart beats). Furthermore, we find that the histogram for the heartbeat intervals increments is well described by a Lévy stable distribution. For a group of subjects with severe heart disease, we find that the distribution is unchanged, but the long-range correlations vanish. Therefore, the different scaling behavior in health and disease must relate to the underlying dynamics of the heartbeat.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cardiac Output, Low / physiopathology
  • Data Interpretation, Statistical
  • Electrocardiography
  • Heart Diseases / physiopathology*
  • Heart Failure / physiopathology
  • Heart Rate / physiology*
  • Hemodynamics / physiology
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Normal Distribution*
  • Time Factors
  • Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / physiopathology