Reliability of short-term measurements of heart rate variability: Findings from a longitudinal study

A Pilot Study of the Reliability and Agreement of Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate and Short-Term Heart Rate Variability in Elite Modern Pentathlon Athletes

“…As underlined by many authors, there are still substantial methodological inconsistencies throughout the literature regarding HRV in sports science that limit comparison [ 4 , 18 , 93 ]. Moreover, the authors of a recent study on test-retest reliability of short-term HRV parameters suggested that the studies differ with respect to important methodological issues and evidence on this topic is far from clear [ 54 ]. There are several methodological characteristics that may cause differences in findings among studies on HRV reliability, e.g., reliability statistics adopted, number of tests performed and the time interval between them, and sample heterogeneity [ 54 ].…”

“…Moreover, the authors of a recent study on test-retest reliability of short-term HRV parameters suggested that the studies differ with respect to important methodological issues and evidence on this topic is far from clear [ 54 ]. There are several methodological characteristics that may cause differences in findings among studies on HRV reliability, e.g., reliability statistics adopted, number of tests performed and the time interval between them, and sample heterogeneity [ 54 ]. Lack of information about other methodological aspects also limits potential for study replication and confidence in interpretation [ 52 , 53 ], such as the lack of information on ECG acquisition and processing, including device, software, recording duration and conditions, breathing control, and position during recordings.…”

“…All ECGs (sampling frequency = 1000 Hz) were performed using a portable PC with an integrated software system (Custo cardio 100 12-channel PC ECG system; Custo med GmbH, Ottobrunn, Germany). The athletes were cabled by a same-sex researcher [ 54 ]. On both study days, in order to stabilize HR and respiratory rate, the participants were asked to lie in the supine position for 10 min [ 57 ] before the beginning of the appropriate ECGs (used to calculate HRV parameters).…”

“…The lack of details concerning methodological aspects of the study significantly limits confidence in interpretation [ 52 , 53 ]. A recent paper on HRV reliability stated that still little is known about the reliability of baseline 5 min (short-term) measurements of HRV and studies continue to differ with respect to important methodological characteristics [ 54 ]. Therefore, the presented study has the following aims: (i) to assess the inter-day reliability of short-term (5 min) HR, respiratory rate and selected time-domain, frequency-domain, and non-linear HRV parameters; (ii) to assess the inter-day reliability of ultra-short-term (1 min) HR, respiratory rate and RMSSD (popular in sports field); (iii) to determine the agreement between short-term (5 min) and ultra-short-term (1 min) parameters, and (iv) to verify the correlations between differences in HR, respiratory rate and HRV parameters in stable conditions in elite modern pentathletes.…”

Myths and methodologies: Reliability of non‐invasive estimates of cardiac autonomic modulation during whole‐body passive heating

“…relative) is not surprising. Indeed, others have highlighted poor absolute reliability of HRV estimates but more acceptable relative reliability (Pinna et al., 2007; Sandercock, Bromley, & Brodie, 2005; Uhlig, Meylan, & Rudolph, 2020). Our data support these previous findings, and indicate that while there is a considerable amount of measurement error involved in HRV analysis (as indicated by the absolute reliability), the ability to discriminate between individuals in the group (i.e.…”