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ECG artifacts and heart period variability: Don't miss a beat!
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1998
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Heart FailureHeart Period VariabilityMeasurementEcg ArtifactsElectrophysiological EvaluationPsychophysiologyElectrocardiographyPatient MonitoringBiostatisticsTimefrequency AnalysisPublic HealthCardiologyStatisticsCardiac MechanicRadiologySingle ArtifactSpurious VarianceCardiovascular DiseasePhysiologyElectrophysiologyCardiovascular PhysiologyMedicineWaveform AnalysisEmergency MedicineArrhythmia
The study modeled how missed and spurious R‑wave detections affect heart period variability estimates in real and simulated data. Even a single artifact in a 128‑second series can introduce spurious variance that exceeds true basal variability and typical effect sizes, affecting all frequency bands and both time‑ and frequency‑domain analyses, underscoring the need for careful artifact detection and correction.
The impact of artifacts on estimates of heart period variability were evaluated by modeling the effects of missed R-waves and spurious R-wave detections in actual and simulated heart period series. Results revealed that even a single artifact, occurring within a 128-s interbeat interval series, can impart substantial spurious variance into all commonly analyzed frequency bands, including that associated with respiratory sinus arrhythmia. In fact, the spurious variance introduced by a single artifact may be greater than that associated with true basal heart period variability and can far exceed typical effect sizes in psychophysiological studies. The effects of artifacts are not related to a specific analytical method and are apparent in both frequency and time domain analyses. Results emphasize the importance of artifact detection and resolution for studies of heart period variability.