Normative values, reliability and sample size estimates in heart rate variability.

HRV (heart rate variability) is a non-invasive maker of cardiac autonomic modulation utilized in many hundreds of scientific studies each year. The reliability of heart rate variability has been frequently investigated yet remains poorly quantified. Assessing the reliability of a measure that assesses dynamic physiological processes and shows large between- and within-subject variation is a complex task. In this issue of Clinical Science, Pinna and co-workers provide excellent insight into the test-retest reliability of commonly used HRV indices and put the values obtained into context by comparing them with levels of between-subject variation and by producing sample size estimates.

[1]  Giuseppe Mancia,et al.  Point: cardiovascular variability is/is not an index of autonomic control of circulation. , 2006, Journal of applied physiology.

[2]  J. Miller,et al.  Decreased heart rate variability and its association with increased mortality after acute myocardial infarction. , 1987, The American journal of cardiology.

[3]  M. Malik,et al.  Does Autonomic Function Link Social Position to Coronary Risk?: The Whitehall II Study , 2005, Circulation.

[4]  Giuseppe Mancia,et al.  Point: Counterpoint: Cardiovascular variability is/is not an index of autonomic control of circulation , 2006 .

[5]  D Sapoznikov,et al.  Five minute recordings of heart rate variability for population studies: repeatability and age–sex characteristics , 1998, Heart.

[6]  A. Malliani,et al.  Heart rate variability. Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use , 1996 .

[7]  Paul D. Bromley,et al.  The reliability of short-term measurements of heart rate variability. , 2005, International journal of cardiology.

[8]  G. Breithardt,et al.  Heart rate variability: standards of measurement, physiological interpretation and clinical use. Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. , 1996 .

[9]  G. Benchetrit,et al.  Enhanced cardiac vagal efferent activity does not explain training-induced bradycardia , 2004, Autonomic Neuroscience.

[10]  Cheryl C. H. Yang,et al.  Effect of aging on gender differences in neural control of heart rate. , 1999, American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology.

[11]  G. Gleim,et al.  Effect of athletic training on heart rate variability. , 1994, American heart journal.

[12]  R. Maestri,et al.  Heart rate variability measures: a fresh look at reliability. , 2007, Clinical science.

[13]  J. Taylor,et al.  Counterpoint: cardiovascular variability is not an index of autonomic control of the circulation. , 2006, Journal of applied physiology.