Experiences with a cardiorecorder system for continuous 24-hour registration of heart rate

Studies regarding to the continuous registration of the heart frequency by a transportable instrument, which can store the data of the heart frequency per minute up to 24h, are presented. It is a tape recorder the speed of which is geared down. Thus a normal tape cassette C 60 is sufficient for a registration of the heart frequency during 2 X 24h. The R-wave of the ECG is registered on the first channel of the tape as a biological signal. Moreover every minute an impulse of a clock is recorded on the second channel of the tape. With help of a second instrument the play back procedure for the 24-h-recording can be performed in about 15 min. The signals of both channels of the tape are transformed in digital rectangle impulses by an installed impulse-converter. The serial impulses are counted per minute with help of the time-mark by an interface in a counter. These data are at disposal in BCD-code. They can be passed on the following peripherals: digital printer, computer, pen-recorder and so on. A parallel standardized recording of the physical activity observed by the subject or by an experimenter allows a statistical evaluation and comparison of the physical activity with the corresponding heart frequency data. Some examples of the aread of occupational health, epidemiology and exercise physiology are discussed.