Synchronization of heart rate and blood pressure with respiration

Time offsets between changes in heart rate, blood pressure and breathing are important to understand when developing cardiovascular models. This study recorded six subjects breathing at 6 and 12 breaths per minute, with and without breathing resistance. RR intervals and systolic pressure (SP) levels were extracted from ECG and Finapres signals; breathing was measured using magnetometers. Time offsets were calculated from the position of peaks in the cross-correlated signals. ANOVAs showed significant effects with breathing resistance for the time offsets relative to the breathing signal. ANOVAs showed significant effects with breathing frequency for time offsets relative to changes in SP levels.