Comparison of electrocardiographic data (P waves): Test of a shape-based approach

✍ Scribed by P. Barone; P. Ciarlini; E. Musso; D. Stilli

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 620 KB
• Volume: 22
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0010-4809
• DOI: 10.1016/0010-4809(89)90002-5

✦ Synopsis

We tested a method for comparing ECG signals (P waves), in a sample of IO normal males. In each subject, sets of 219 body surface ECGs were simultaneously recorded during tidal respiration. Only beats at end expiration and peak inspiration were considered. The beats of each group were subdivided into two subgroups of the same size (about 30 beats) and separately averaged. The two averaged beats at end expiration, assumed to be equal, were compared in order to estimate the noise variance (u'), i.e.. the lowest value of variance at which the beats were statistically similar (P < 0.05). At the same value of uZ, the beat at end expiration significantly differed from that at peak inspiration. By considering the individual leads, significant differences were found in more than 50% of the 219 EC&. in specific thoracic areas. The data indicated that the method can reveal differences between P waves occurring during tidal respiration and provide information on the topographical distribution of the differences.