A Study of Resonance Phenomenon in Respiration and Heart Rate Variability

The resonance phenomenon in the cardiovascular system caused by rhythmical breathing has long been discovered and used for biofeedback therapy. Breathing at the resonance frequency can lead to the highest amplitude of the heart rate variability (HRV) compared to other frequencies. The classical DeBoer's model of cardiovascular system is to explain this resonance phenomenon, but it is only for resonance at 0.08 Hz and presents more peaks in the HRV power spectrum than the actual data. In this paper, we modify the DeBoer's model so that its results are consistent with features found in our experimental data: (1) The modified models can present 0.08 Hz and 0.1 Hz resonance properties in HRV, which are in line with our actual data for people with different resonance frequencies; (2) The modified models predict exactly the same peak as the actual data in the HRV power spectrum. Our preliminary study suggests that these modified models can better reflect the pattern of HRV in the frequency domain in our experiment.