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Risk evaluation of ventricular tachycardia using wavelet transform irregularity of the high-resolution electrocardiogram

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Abstract

A new method for analysis of high-resolution ECG signals using a wavelet transform based on a modified Morlet function is presented. A polynomial filter is used to reduce low-frequency, high-amplitude noise components in the analysed signals. The method is tested on test ECG signals with simulated late potentials and finally verified on two post-infarction patient (PP) groups: 62 PPs with ventricular tachycardia and 44 PPs without arrhythmia. A new quantitative parameter, the irregularity factor, is proposed for discrimination between the study groups. The results show a significant difference in the parameter values for tachycardia patients compared with those for patients without arrhythmia. The sensitivity of the proposed method is 85%, and the specificity is 93%.

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Correspondence to R. Maniewski.

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Lewandowski, P., Meste, O., Maniewski, R. et al. Risk evaluation of ventricular tachycardia using wavelet transform irregularity of the high-resolution electrocardiogram. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 38, 666–673 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02344873

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