Characterization of atrial fibrillation using the surface ECG: time-dependent spectral properties

Summary, in English

Time-frequency analysis is considered for characterizing atrial fibrillation in the surface electrocardiogram (ECG). Variations in fundamental frequency of the fibrillatory waves are tracked by using different time-frequency distributions which are appropriate to short- and long-term variations. The cross Wigner-Ville distribution is found to be particularly useful for short-term analysis due to its ability to handle poor signal-to-noise ratios. In patients with chronic atrial fibrillation, substantial short-term variations exist in fibrillation frequency and variations up to 2.5 Hz can be observed within a few seconds. Although time-frequency analysis is performed independently in each lead, short-term variations in fibrillation frequency often exhibit a similar pattern in the leads V1, V2 and V3. Using different techniques for short- and long-term analysis, it is possible to reliably detect subtle long-term changes in fibrillation frequency, e.g., related to an intervention, which otherwise would have been obscured by spontaneous variations in fibrillation frequency.

• Författare: Martin Stridh; Leif Sörnmo; Carl Meurling; Bertil Olsson
• Avdelning/ar: Institutionen för elektro- och informationsteknik; Kardiologi
• Publiceringsår: 2001
• Språk: Engelska
• Sidor: 19-27
• Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie: IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering
• Volym: 48
• Issue: 1
• Länkar: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/10.900245
• Dokumenttyp: Artikel i tidskrift
• Förlag: IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
• Ämne: Medical Engineering
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt: ISSN: 1558-2531