Wavelet based analysis and characterization of the ECG signal

This paper reports the use of a wavelet analysis technique based on the Mexican Hat wavelet to identify the onset and termination points and the duration of the principal constituent components of the human electrocardiogram (ECG). ECG recordings were obtained from 21 healthy subjects aged between 13 and 65 years, over a wide range of heart rates extending from 46 to 184 beats min^-1. A wavelet transform method was then used to locate precisely the positions of the onset, termination and the durations of individual components in the ECG. Component times were then classified according to the heart rate associated with the cardiac cycle to which the component belonged. Second order equations of the form A√T_R-R + BT _R-R + C were fitted to the data obtained for each component to characterize its timing variation.