A personal computer based system for heart rate variability studies

Heart-rate variability was examined with a recently developed microcomputer system in a number of patients with varied metabolic states. Power spectral density was computed in each case using standard FFT and the Levinson recursion algorithms. Reproducible spectral analyses were obtained for all patients. No difference in interpretation was observed between Levinson and standard FFT algorithms. Therefore, in spite of the inherent better definition of autoregressive modeling for spectral computation, the fast FFT algorithm yields equivalent results. The new system provides wide functional versatility for users interested in heart rate variability studies