A pilot study: Wavelet cross-correlation of cardiovascular oscillations under controlled respiration in humans.

The influence of deep controlled respiration on cardiovascular oscillations in 13 healthy young volunteers was studied. A measurement system comprising electrocardiography, laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) and photoplethysmography (PPG) was used to estimate heart rate variability (HRV), tissue blood volume and skin blood perfusion at spontaneous respiration and during three tests at controlled conditions. In the latter case, respiration was controlled in both rate (0.04, 0.1 and 0.25 Hz) and depth. During respiration at 0.04 and 0.1 Hz, the amplification of a respiratory-related component in the spectra of HRV and PPG signals turned out to be more significant than that at spontaneous respiration, and at 0.25 Hz this component remained unchanged. Controlled respiration caused a significant increase in correlation in HRV-PPG, HRV-LDF and PPG-LDF pairs of signals compared to spontaneous one. At 0.25 Hz controlled respiration, no significant increase in correlation in these pairs of signals was found. The differences observed in this study can be attributed to the effects of the sympathetic nerve activity on vascular tone regulation.