Long-term correlations and fractal dimension of beat-to-beat blood pressure dynamics

Arterial blood pressure is modulated by several physiological regulatory processes. The analysis of beat-to-beat blood pressure dynamics provides information about cardiovascular control and patho-physiological conditions. In this paper we investigated the long-term correlations and fractal dimension of systolic blood pressure time series applying detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and Higuchi's algorithm (HFD). Thirty-minute blood pressure recordings in 25 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and 27 healthy controls (CON) were analyzed. The DFA and HFD revealed multifractal features in the blood pressure dynamics of CON as well as of DCM. At small scales, DFA and HFD of CON were significantly different from those of CON, reflecting pathophysiological changes. In conclusion, scaling analysis of blood pressure dynamics might lead to an enhanced assessment of autonomic cardiovascular control in patients with DCM.