A new application for heart rate variability: diagnosing the sleep apnoea syndrome

The unique heart rate rhythm in the sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome (SAHS) may provide the basis for an effective screening tool. This paper assesses the variability (HRV), using the Discrete Fourier Transform (DHWT). Spectral HRV results are compared to those of the current screening method of oximetry. Diagnostic indicator of the SAHS in both NREM and REM sleep. The DHWT offers advantages over the DFT in that it supplies greater time resolution and is computationally more efficient.