Validity of the Elite HRV Smartphone Application for Examining Heart Rate Variability in a Field-Based Setting

Abstract

Perrotta, AS, Jeklin, AT, Hives, BA, Meanwell, LE, and Warburton, DER. Validity of the elite HRV smartphone application for examining heart rate variability in a field-based setting. J Strength Cond Res 31(8): 2296-2302, 2017-The introduction of smartphone applications has allowed athletes and practitioners to record and store R-R intervals on smartphones for immediate heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. This user-friendly option should be validated in the effort to provide practitioners confidence when monitoring their athletes before implementing such equipment. The objective of this investigation was to examine the relationship and validity between a vagal-related HRV index, rMSSD, when derived from a smartphone application accessible with most operating systems against a frequently used computer software program, Kubios HRV 2.2. R-R intervals were recorded immediately upon awakening over 14 consecutive days using the Elite HRV smartphone application. R-R recordings were then exported into Kubios HRV 2.2 for analysis. The relationship and levels of agreement between rMSSDln derived from Elite HRV and Kubios HRV 2.2 was examined using a Pearson product-moment correlation and a Bland-Altman Plot. An extremely large relationship was identified (r = 0.92; p < 0.0001; confidence interval [CI] 95% = 0.90-0.93). A total of 6.4% of the residuals fell outside the 1.96 ± SD (CI 95% = -12.0 to 7.0%) limits of agreement. A negative bias was observed (mean: -2.7%; CI 95% = -3.10 to -2.30%), whose CI 95% failed to fall within the line of equality. Our observations demonstrated differences between the two sources of HRV analysis. However, further research is warranted, as this smartphone HRV application may offer a reliable platform when assessing parasympathetic modulation.

Training Prescription Guided by Heart-Rate Variability in Cycling

“…The HRV measurement were captured with a Polar H7 strap (Polar Team System, Polar Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland) and sent via app cloud service (Elite HRV app) 26 for analysis. HRV was measured in a supine position and over a 90 s period.…”

Parasympathetic Nervous Activity Responses to Different Resistance Training Systems

“…This tool detects and removes artifacts in their default. This method has been validated against the frequently used computer software program, Kubios HRV 2.2 [14], and since then, it has been used in different studies that investigated the effects of exercise on the autonomic nervous system.…”

Comparison of Omegawave Device and an Ambulatory ECG for RR Interval Measurement at rest

“…However, these limits and the uniform distribution of the residuals are considered as good quality indicators for the benchmarked system. Some validation studies [17][18][19][20] are not based on RR interval measurements but on the results of different variables (for example, the RMSSD) calculated by two devices. We believe this leads to mixing different factors in the same analysis, such as the calculation algorithm or the filtering strategy used by each device.…”