Key result
Ultra-short-term SD1/SD2 and DFA show greater reliability than SDNN or pNN50 across recording lengths.
Why the study?
To investigate whether ultra short-term heart rate variability metrics can capture changes from external stimuli and remain effective under various recording lengths.
Do ultra-short-term heart rate variability metrics accurately capture autonomic changes from external stimuli in healthy adults?
Observational (n=70)
Randomly assigned to pure or mixed image regime
No
Do ultra-short-term heart rate variability metrics accurately capture autonomic changes from external stimuli in healthy adults?
Ultra-short-term HRV metrics such as SDNN, pNN50, and SD2 may not be robust replacements for standard 5-minute HRV recordings, highlighting the need to analyze multiple metrics like SD1/SD2 for accurate physiological assessment.
Ultra-short HRV recordings warrant caution for SDNN, pNN50, or SD2 in clinical monitoring; leaves open whether SD1/SD2 and DFA reliably track stimulus responses.
Ultra short-term (UST) heart rate variability (HRV) has been used to establish normative HRV values. This study aims to investigate whether HRV metrics can capture changes in HRV from external stimuli, and whether these metrics remain effective under various recording length. Participants completed varying stimulating activities including viewing images, arithmetic tasks, and memory recall of viewed images. SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50, SD2, SD1/SD2, and DFA were extracted from the data. Comparing arithmetic calculation and the first minute of memory recall, SDNN, pNN50, SD2, and SD1/SD2 had significant HRV differences; this suggests that these metrics can distinguish the inherently different stimuli participants were exposed to. However, comparing first minute of viewing with that of the second, SDNN, pNN50, and SD2, presented some significant HRV differences during two inherently similar stimuli. Comparing the first 60-120 s during viewing, SDNN, pNN50, and SD2 also presented significant differences. Our results suggest that SDNN, pNN50, and SD2 may not be robust in evaluating UST HRVs in replacement of the standard short-term HRV. It may be beneficial to analyze multiple HRV metrics, particularly SD1/SD2, to achieve a more holistic understanding of the underlying physiology.
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Gu et al. (2023) conducted an observational in Healthy (n=70). External stimuli (viewing images, arithmetic tasks, memory recall) vs. Different tasks and recording lengths was evaluated on Changes in ultra-short-term HRV metrics. Ultra-short-term HRV metrics SDNN, pNN50, and SD2 were sensitive to recording length and may not be robust replacements for standard 5-minute recordings, whereas SD1/SD2 and DFA were more reliable.
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