njit-etd2003-081 - New Jersey Institute of Technology

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter
Page
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Scope of research 1
1.2 Goals and Contributions 8
1.3 Outline of the dissertation 12
2 PHYSIOLOGY BACKGROUND 14
2.1 Cardiovascular Systems and the Heart 14
2.2 Blood Pressure 20
2.3 Metabolic Function/Respiration 21
2.4 The Nervous System 22
2.4.1 The Autonomic Nervous System 23
2.4.2 The Baroreflex Mechanism 27
2.5 Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability 29
2.5.1 Physiology of changes in heart rate 29
2.5.2 Heart rate variability as a measure of Autonomic Function 31
2.5.3 Baroreflex Response 32
2.6 The Electrocardiogram (ECG) 34
2.7 Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) 37
2.7.1 Classification of COPD by severity 39
3 ENGINEERING BACKGROUND 42
3.1 Time-Frequency Distributions 43
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