Physica A. 1999 Dec 1;274(1-2):99-110.  

Application of statistical physics to heartbeat diagnosis.

Havlin S, Amaral LA, Ashkenazy Y, Goldberger AL, Ivanov PCh, Peng CK, Stanley
HE.

Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
havlin@phys9.ph.biu.ac.il

We present several recent studies based on statistical physics concepts that can
be used as diagnostic tools for heart failure. We describe the scaling exponent
characterizing the long-range correlations in heartbeat time series as well as
the multifractal features recently discovered in heartbeat rhythm. It is found
that both features, the long-range correlations and the multifractility, are
weaker in cases of heart failure.

PMID: 11543157 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]