Power Spectrum Analysis of Heart Rate Fluctuation: A Quantitative Probe of Beat-to-Beat Cardiovascular Control

19815,061 citationsJournal Article

Authors

S. Akselrod · Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology

David Gordon · Massachusetts General Hospital

F. Andrew Ubel · Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology

Daniel C. Shannon · Massachusetts General Hospital

Alexandre Berger · Harvard University

Richard J. Cohen · Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology

Abstract

Power spectrum analysis of heart rate fluctuations provides a quantitative noninvasive means of assessing the functioning of the short-term cardiovascular control systems. We show that sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous activity make frequency-specific contributions to the heart rate power spectrum, and that renin-angiotensin system activity strongly modulates the amplitude of the spectral peak located at 0.04 hertz. Our data therefore provide evidence that the renin-angiotensin system plays a significant role in short-term cardiovascular control in the time scale of seconds to minutes.

Topics & Keywords

Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control ECG Monitoring and Analysis EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Good health and well-being

Publication Details

Published in: Science

Volume 213, Issue 4504, pp. 220-222

DOI: 10.1126/science.6166045

Field-Weighted Citation Impact: 6.09