Hypertension: Time‐Frequency Analysis for Early Diagnosis

Hypertension is the most common disease in industrialized nations, and it markedly increases both morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and many other diseases. Yet, appropriate interventions can delay and possibly prevent the development of hypertension and ensuing complications. The risk of cardiovascular death doubles in a near linear fashion for each 20/10 mm Hg increment in blood pressure levels above 115/75 mm Hg. Despite this, no techniques are currently available to identify individuals at increased risk for developing hypertension. Autonomic dysfunction has been quantified at progressive stages of hypertension, providing insight into the malfunctions characteristic of pre-hypertension, mild, and full-blown hypertension. Newly developed time-frequency analysis tools provide a promising prospect for simple, noninvasive identification of individuals with a “pre-hypertensive” profile. Early identification of individuals prone to developing hypertension may allow for aggressive early intervention to slow down, or even halt, disease progression. Keywords: hypertension; time-frequency analysis; continuous wavelet transform