Abstract
The aim of this study was to validate the measurements of the beat intervals
taken at rest by the Omegawave® device by comparing them to
an ambulatory electrocardiogram system. For this purpose, the electrocardiogram
was digitally processed, time-aligned, and scrutinized for its suitable use as
gold-standard. Rest measurements were made for 10 minutes on 5 different days to
10 men and 3 women (24.8±5.05 years; 71.82±11.02 kg;
174.35±9.13 cm). RR intervals were simultaneously recorded using
the Omegawave device and a Holter electrocardiogram. The processing of Holter
electrocardiogram signals included the detrending of baseline noise and a
high-pass filtering for emphasizing the QRS complexes and attenuating the T
waves. After obtaining the RR intervals from the electrocardiogram, those from
the Omegawave device were automatically aligned to them with cross-correlation
digital processing techniques and compared to check whether both measurements
could be considered superimposable. A Bland-Altman analysis was applied to the 5
measurements made for all subjects. The Omegawave device exhibited very strong
agreement with a quality-controlled Holter electrocardiogram. Deviations not
exceeding 25 ms could be expected in 95% of the cases, which is
within manageable ranges both for clinical practice and for sports.
Key words
heart rate variability - sport device - validation
