Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is HRV?Measuring HRVWhat It Should BeWhy It MattersFactors Affecting ItImproving HRV
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is HRV?
Measuring HRV
What It Should Be
Why It Matters
Factors Affecting It
Improving HRV
Heart rate variability, or HRV, is the difference in the length of time between heartbeats.
If you’ve evertaken your pulse, it might feel like your heart is beating at a steady pace. However, the time between your heartbeats is not consistent. HRV is that fluctuation in the timing of heartbeats. Measuring HRV can provide information about your overall health.
This article discusses how to measure and interpret heart rate variability and what the measurement means.
What Is Heart Rate?
Heart rate variability is the variation in the length of time between heartbeats, measured in milliseconds.It is different from heart rate.
Heart rate variability results from the actions of yourautonomic nervous system(ANS). The ANS controls your heartbeat, breathing, and digestion. Two parts of the ANS impact your heart rate—the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which are:
How Is HRV Measured?
Heart rate variability is most accurately measured with anelectrocardiogram(ECG or EKG). This test provides a graph of your heartbeat from electrodes placed on your chest, arms, and legs. These electrodes sense the electrical signals in your heart that cause it to beat.
The electrocardiogram is a recording of the electrical activity of your heart. Among other things, the electrocardiogram can measure your heart rate and the variability in timing between your heart beats—in other words, the HRV.
Measuring HRV at HomeThis is a bit more challenging, but technology is progressing. Chest straps that use electrodes can be worn to monitor your HRV. This technology is also being incorporated into smartwatches and apps that go along with them.
Measuring HRV at Home
This is a bit more challenging, but technology is progressing. Chest straps that use electrodes can be worn to monitor your HRV. This technology is also being incorporated into smartwatches and apps that go along with them.
What You Need to Know About the Nervous System
What Should My HRV Be?
Generally, thenormal heart rateat rest for adults is between 60 and 100 beats per minute.The average HRV for a person with a resting heart rate of 60 beats per minute would be one second, but actual HRV values could have a broader fluctuation.
There isn’t a specific “normal” range that applies to everyone. One person’s normal could be abnormal for you. Consistently wearing a tracking device for a few weeks can help you determine your baseline HRV measurement.
Why Does HRV Matter?
Higher HRV can signify that your body adapts well to changes in your environment and stress levels. It could also mean greater cardiovascular fitness levels.Higher HRV measurements are also expected to occur when your heart rate is increased during physical activities like running.
While higher HRV levels are generally favorable, they could also signify certain medical conditions, such asatrial fibrillation(AFib, an abnormal heart rhythm).
On the flip side, your HRV might be lower if you are chronically stressed or dealing with depression. That’s because if your body is in flight-or-fight mode, the variation between heartbeats tends to be lower.
A low HRV can also point to a higher risk of cardiac issues such as heart attack,congestive heart failure(the heart doesn’t pump efficiently enough), or coronary heart disease (arteries cannot deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart).
Low HRV is associated with elevated levels of inflammation in the body, high blood glucose levels, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.This means those with low HRV are at increased risk for:
Factors That Affect HRV
Many factors can affect a person’s heart rate variability, including:
People who are more fit tend to have higher HRV. Researchers observe that those with better cardiovascular fitness have higher HRV.
How to Improve HRV
If you want to improve your HRV, try these tips to reduce overall stress and improve your health:
HRV measurements constantly fluctuate based on your environment and activity levels. Lasting improvements in HRV can take several weeks or longer to achieve.
How to Reduce Stress: Techniques and More
Summary
Heart rate variability (HRV) measures the time between heartbeats. Normal HRV varies from person to person, and levels naturally decrease with age. Lower HRV is often associated with high stress levels and other medical conditions, but higher values aren’t always better.
HRV is most accurately measured with an electrocardiogram but can also be assessed with home monitors, including chest straps and smartwatches. Tracking your HRV for several weeks can help you determine your baseline.
13 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Harvard Health Publishing.Heart rate variability: How it might indicate well-being.
Hospital for Special Surgery.How the parasympathetic nervous system can lower stress.
Hinde K, White G, Armstrong N.Wearable devices suitable for monitoring twenty four hour heart rate variability in military populations.Sensors (Basel). 2021;21(4):1061. Doi:
American Heart Association.Target heart rates chart.
Caring Medical.Heart rate variability.
Shaffer F, Ginsberg JP.An overview of heart rate variability metrics and norms. Front Public Health. 2017;0. Doi:10.3389/fpubh.2017.00258
Drake Institute of Neurophysical Medicine.What is heart rate variability (HRV) and why is it important?
Jarczok MN, Koenig J, Wittling A, Fischer JE, Thayer JF.First evaluation of an index of low vagally-mediated heart rate variability as a marker of health risks in human adults: proof of concept.J Clin Med. 2019;8(11):1940. doi:10.3390/jcm8111940
Williams DP, Koenig J, Carnevali L, et al.Heart rate variability and inflammation: A meta-analysis of human studies.Brain Behav Immun. 2019;80:219-226. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2019.03.009
McCraty R, Shaffer F.Heart rate variability: new perspectives on physiological mechanisms, assessment of self-regulatory capacity, and health risk. Glob Adv Health Med. 2015;4(1):46-61. doi:10.7453%2Fgahmj.2014.073
Gąsior JS, Sacha J, Jeleń PJ, Pawłowski M, Werner B, Dąbrowski MJ.Interaction between heart rate variability and heart rate in pediatric population. Front Physiol. 2015;6:385. Doi:10.3389%2Ffphys.2015.00385
Tiwari R, Kumar R, Malik S, Raj T, Kumar P.Analysis of heart rate variability and implication of different factors on heart rate variability.Curr Cardiol Rev. 2021;17(5):e160721189770. doi:10.2174/1573403X16999201231203854
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
