For those who dread spending a night at a sleep center to diagnose their sleep problems, there may be interest in learning whether heart rate analysis may prove to be a future alternative to a standard sleep study.
These models have been around for years, and researchers continue to develop techniques to monitor the heart rate as a means of diagnosing breathing disorders that occur while asleep, as recently published in the journal Chaos.
Most sleep studies, or polysomnograms, are performed overnight at a center and measure numerous variables through the use of electronic sensors. These studies include an EEG, EKG, and additional measurements of breathing and other vital signs.
Scientists from Israel and Germany have found a novel way to monitor sleep and potentially diagnose sleep disorders. Their method relies on using a mathematical technique to analyze someone’s heart rate and determining the synchronization between heartbeat and breathing, which might measure cardio-respiratory fitness.
These processes are weakly linked, with inhalation causing the heart to beat faster while exhalation slows it down. Also, changes are noted in stages of sleep, with a lack of synchronization during REM sleep. The researchers hope to extend their study to determine whether this technique can accurately diagnose sleep disorders.
Unfortunately, these models currently provide little information about non-respiratory sleep disorders, the severity of oxygen desaturations, and would not allow be useful in CPAP titration studies. Therefore, it's quite unlikely that these models will replace a standard sleep study anytime soon.
Source:
Hamann, C. et al. “Automated synchrogram analysis applied to heartbeat and reconstructed respiration.” Chaos. 19, 015106 (2009).
