Artificial neural network for normal, hypertensive, and preeclamptic pregnancy classification using maternal heart rate variability indexes

Abstract

Objective. A model construction for classification of women with normal, hypertensive and preeclamptic pregnancy in different gestational ages using maternal heart rate variability (HRV) indexes.

Method and patients. In the present work, we applied the artificial neural network for the classification problem, using the signal composed by the time intervals between consecutive RR peaks (RR) (n = 568) obtained from ECG records. Beside the HRV indexes, we also considered other factors like maternal history and blood pressure measurements.

Results and conclusions. The obtained result reveals sensitivity for preeclampsia around 80% that increases for hypertensive and normal pregnancy groups. On the other hand, specificity is around 85–90%. These results indicate that the combination of HRV indexes with artificial neural networks (ANN) could be helpful for pregnancy study and characterization.

Keywords:

• HRV
• artificial neural networks
• pregnancy
• preeclampsia
• hypertension

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by ‘Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia’ (FCT), Grant: SFRH/BD/25167/2005.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.