Improving the quality of heart rate variability spectra by imposing a constraint on the amount of ectopy in each data segment

Heart rate variability (HRV) is primarily due to instability oscillations of homeostatic feedback loops. Each loop tends to oscillate at a frequency characteristic of the time required to traverse that loop. Discarding all segments with ectopy is impractical in a clinical setting, since the number of ectopy-free segments is low even in patients with moderate ectopy. Investigators are extending spectra into lower frequency ranges, which requires longer data segments, and further reduces the number of ectopy-free segments. A method is proposed to determine the level of ectopy above which data segments should be discarded. By enforcing an effective ectopy cutoff, the mean distance among the spectra making up the average periodogram is reduced, increasing the confidence in these spectra. This technique allows for "quality control" of the data upon which HRV spectral analysis is based.<>