Authors:
Xosé A. Vila
1
;
Arturo J. Méndez
1
;
Abraham Otero
2
;
Leandro Rodríguez-Liñares
1
and
María J. Lado
1
Affiliations:
1
University of Vigo, Spain
;
2
University San Pablo CEU, Spain
Keyword(s):
Sleep apnea, Heart rate variability, HRV, ECG.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Applications and Services
;
Biomedical Engineering
;
Biomedical Signal Processing
;
Cardiovascular Signals
;
Computer Vision, Visualization and Computer Graphics
;
Medical Image Detection, Acquisition, Analysis and Processing
Abstract:
Nowadays, sleep apnea is a disease with a high prevalence. Its diagnosis requires to admit the patient in a hospital sleep unit and to conduct a polysomnography during the night. For this reason, many efforts have been devoted to alternative techniques to diagnose apnea from other signals, such as ECG or oxygen saturation, easier to obtain outside a hospital. The aim of this work is to investigate if these recordings behave similar to overnight ECGs.This paper presents the results of a small study (only 7 patients) conducted on short naps
using heart rate variability (HRV) parameters. The results indicate that the spectral parameters are different for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and healthy patients. Relationship with the apnea/hypoapnea index (AHI) was also different. This is a promising starting point for more extensive studies in the future.