title: Methods derived from nonlinear dynamics for analysing heart rate variability.
abstract: Methods from nonlinear dynamics (NLD) have shown new insights into heart rate (HR) variability changes under various physiological and pathological conditions, providing additional prognostic information and complementing traditional time- and frequency-domain analyses. In this review, some of the most prominent indices of nonlinear and fractal dynamics are summarized and their algorithmic implementations and applications in clinical trials are discussed. Several of those indices have been proven to be of diagnostic relevance or have contributed to risk stratification. In particular, techniques based on mono- and multifractal analyses and symbolic dynamics have been successfully applied to clinical studies. Further advances in HR variability analysis are expected through multidimensional and multivariate assessments. Today, the question is no longer about whether or not methods from NLD should be applied; however, it is relevant to ask which of the methods should be selected and under which basic and standardized conditions should they be applied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Jena, 07745 Jena, Germany. voss@fh-jena.de
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Voss
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.forename: Rico
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baumert
authors.forename: Pere
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caminal
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory / Q000379:methods; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D019277:Entropy; D017709:Fractals; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted