Behavioral-independence features of complex heartbeat dynamics.

Amaral, LAN, Ivanov, PC, Aoyagi, N, Hidaka, I, Tomono, S, Goldberger, AL, Stanley, HE, Yamamoto, Y.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 6026-6029 (2001)

Times cited: 116

Download PDF

Abstract

We test whether the complexity of the cardiac interbeat interval time series is simply a consequence of the wide range of scales characterizing human behavior, especially physical activity, by analyzing data taken from healthy adult subjects under three conditions with controls: (i) a "constant routine" protocol where physical activity and postural changes are kept to a minimum, (ii) sympathetic blockade, and (iii) parasympathetic blockade. We find that when fluctuations in physical activity and other behavioral modifiers are minimized, a remarkable level of complexity of heartbeat dynamics remains, while for neuroautonomic blockade the multifractal complexity decreases.