Characterization of autonomic nervous influences on PR and RR intervals in the electrocardiogram

Abstract

RR and PR intervals were extracted from single channel electrocardiograms in normal human subjects using a wavelet based technique. RR and PR intervals were shown to be correlated with respiration due to common autonomic nervous activation of the sino-atrial and atrio-ventricular nodes. However, evidence for independent autonomic nervous activation of these nodes is also shown based on RR and PR interval spectra, and on RR vs. PR plots.