Validity and reliability of short‐term heart‐rate variability from disposable electrocardiography leads

Abstract

Background and Aims Single‐use electrocardiography (ECG) leads have been developed to reduce healthcare‐associated infection. This study compared the validity and reliability of short‐term heart rate variability (HRV) obtained from single‐use disposable ECG leads. Methods Thirty healthy subjects (33 ± 10 years; 9 females) underwent 5‐min resting HRV assessments using disposable (single use) ECG cable and wire system (Kendall DL™ Cardinal Health) and a standard, reusable ECG leads (CardioExpress, Spacelabs Healthcare). Results Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with 95% confidence interval (CI) between disposable and reusable ECG leads was for the time domain [R‐R interval (ms); 0.99 (0.91, 1.00)], the root mean square of successive normal R‐R interval differences (RMSSD) (ms); 0.91 (0.76, 0.96), the SD of normal‐to‐normal R‐R intervals (SDNN) (ms); 0.91 (0.68, 0.97) and frequency domain [low‐frequency (LF) normalized units (nu); 0.90 (0.79, 0.95), high frequency (HF) nu; 0.91 (0.80, 0.96), LF power (ms 2 ); 0.89 (0.62, 0.96), HF power (ms 2 ); 0.90 (0.72, 0.96)] variables. The mean difference and upper and lower limits of agreement between disposable and reusable leads for time‐ and frequency‐domain variables were acceptable. Analysis of repeated measures using disposable leads demonstrated excellent reproducibility (ICC 95% CI) for R‐R interval (ms); 0.93 (0.85, 0.97), RMSSD (ms); 0.93 (0.85, 0.97), SDNN (ms); 0.88 (0.75, 0.95), LF power (ms 2 ); 0.87 (0.72, 0.94), and HF power (ms 2 ); 0.88 (0.73, 0.94) with coefficient of variation ranging from 2.2% to 5% ( p > 0.37 for all variables). Conclusion Single‐use Kendall DL™ ECG leads demonstrate a valid and reproducible tool for the assessment of HRV.

Development of a Heart Rate Variability Prediction Equation Through Multiple Linear Regression Analysis Using Physical Characteristics and Heart Rate Variables

“… 13 Time-domain analysis involves quantifying the values of inter-beat intervals recorded continuously at any given point in time or the R-R interval recorded at a specific time (within 5-10 min). 35 , 36 Among the time domain variables of the HRV variable, the simplest analysis is SDNN. The SDNN values decrease when the HRV is lower and regular.…”