HRV patterns and exacerbations of COPD patients following routine controls: A preliminary study

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is usually related to cardiovascular risk and sudden death. An effective tool for the diagnosis of exacerbations in COPD patients is the heart rate variability (HRV) analysis of polysomnograms, corresponding to patients which must be monitored in a clinical center. As an alternative, we present an ambulatory electrocardiography technique to control the COPD patients at home, by studying patients's ECGs (Electrocardiogram) in distinct periods of time, to extract possible differences in two situations: 1) previous to the exacerbation and 2) during acute episodes. Results indicate that the spectral parameters experiment important differences when they are measured in an exacerbation episode, compared to the values obtained in the ECG recordings obtained one or two months before.