Model Based and Experimental Investigation of the Heart Rate Response to Inspiratory Hold

The goal of this study is experimental and model based investigation of the respiratory effect on heart rate variability (HRV). In this study, the ECG and respiration were recorded from 6 healthy volunteers who were told to hold their breath for 30 seconds. 5 recordings were taken from each volunteer and signal averaging was used. It was observed that HRV changes with oscillatory behavior at around 0.1 Hz and returns approximately to the value before the beginning of breath hold. Moreover, by using the characteristics of actual respiratory signals, the HRV predicted by the Ursino-Magosso model was calculated. The actual HRV and the model predicted HRV were compared in time domain, and were found to be in concordance in general.