Computerized analysis of ambulatory monitoring in the quantification of sinoatrial disease.

A computer program was written to allow quantitative beat-by-beat analysis of 24-h tapes acquired during standard ambulatory monitoring. Compared with a control group, subjects with sinoatrial disease were found to have significantly more tachy-brady events, more heart rate variability, more beat-to-beat variability and had fewer beats within a normal heart rate range. This technique, complementary to conventional analysis of 24-h tapes, may be useful in detecting more frequent but less severe abnormalities of heart rhythm in sinoatrial disease, strengthening the diagnostic power of ambulatory monitoring and allowing quantification of a further range of heart rhythm abnormalities.