On 16/06/13 23:28, (Ted Harding) wrote:
On 16-Jun-2013 17:30:52 Anthony Anson wrote:
Thanks - I'll compare it with LO Calc.
If I had a typical dataset to work with, I would like to try implementing this project using groff (in particular the 'pic' preprocessor).
Thanks for the interest: I have readings of systolic and diastolic pressures, as well as pulse rate, all taken between the end of February and now. The readings tend to be taken hourly except when I'm sleeping, out, or the readings are worrying.
I gather that it would consist of 24 hours of blood pressure data, over a month, with a reading taken potentially every half hour on each day (so maximum of 31*24*2 = 1488 readings in a month), with the strong possibility that some (or many?) of them may be missing.
Well, I plan monthly graphs of sys/dia + pulse rates, all on the same time-lines, day by day.
It has occurred to me, late as usual, that I should have included current activity and perhaps what I have eaten and drunk, and when. (Including medications - these last ones seem to be making things worse...)
I say 'late', as I have appointments to have a 24 hr ECG fitted and unfitted.
And is it just one BP reading at a time (e.g. diastolic) or would it be both diastolic and systolic for each reading?
Both, and pulse-rate.
ATM they are recorded as numbers. These are somewhat higher than I would like, as my BP was typically low and my resting pulse around forty:
12.45 - 149/83 + 152 bpm
13.45 - 128/85 + 131 bpm
14.45 - 127/80 + 148 bpm
15.45 - 185/105 + 144 bpm
One of the crucial aspects of this kind of thing is how one wants it to look, and how easily readable one wants it to be! This can be more readily customised using groff+pic than with many other data/plotting packages (and, in particular, setting up customised graphics using the generally excellent R[*] statistical package can involve many hours wandering disorientedly through a maze of help pages ... ).
Yes - ideally it would just be three wiggly lines with time data and other comments - nothing fancy, and the idea would be to make a readable graph which is neither understated nor exaggerated.