Speed Spot as a method of graphical visualization and analysis of the state of the heart activity

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia. Currently, it makes up about 1.5-2% of the total population (average age 75-85 years), and it is expected that by 2050 it will be about 30 million people in North America and Europe. This is associated with a five-fold risk of stroke, a triple increase in the risk of heart failure, increased mortality and hospitalization. Currently, methods of non-linear analysis of heart rate variability, which are successfully used in many scientific studies, are becoming more common. In practice, for detecting AF, graphical methods of rhythm analysis are often used: construction of correlation rhythmograms (Poincaré plot), analysis of histograms of RR intervals and three-dimensional scatterogram. They provide visual information on the nature of the heart rhythm, that is, they are visual methods for analyzing the sequence of cardiocycles, and can be used to solve the problem of automatic diagnosis of AF. The article discusses the features of the new method proposed by the authors and called Speed Spot.