Comparison of pulse rate variability with heart rate variability during obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract

We investigate whether pulse rate variability (PRV) extracted from finger photo-plethysmography (Pleth) waveforms can be the substitute of heart rate variability (HRV) from RR intervals of ECG signals during obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Simultaneous measurements (ECG and Pleth) were taken from 29 healthy subjects during normal (undisturbed sleep) breathing and 22 patients with OSA during OSA events. Highly significant (p r> 0.95) were found between heart rate (HR) and pulse rate (PR). Bland-Altman plot of HR and PR shows good agreement (<5% difference). Comparison of 2. min recording epochs demonstrated significant differences (p< 0.01) in time, frequency domains and complexity analysis, b..