Key result
Pulse rate variability from wrist-worn devices showed poor agreement with ECG-based heart rate variability, with significant differences in 11 of 13 conditions.
Why the study?
The study evaluated whether pulse rate variability from wrist-worn photoplethysmography can reliably substitute for ECG-measured heart rate variability across tasks with varying loads and ambulation.
Does pulse rate variability from wrist-worn PPG reliably substitute for ECG-based heart rate variability in healthy adults?
Observational (n=24)
Does pulse rate variability from wrist-worn PPG reliably substitute for ECG-based heart rate variability in healthy adults?
Pulse rate variability from wrist-worn devices shows poor agreement with ECG-based heart rate variability and cannot currently serve as a reliable surrogate in real-world assessments.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Clinicians should avoid wrist PRV as ECG HRV surrogate; leaves open its validity in patients and real-world conditions.
This study assessed the reliability of pulse rate variability (PRV) from wrist worn photoplethysmography (PPG) as a substitute for heart rate variability (HRV) measured via electrocardiography (ECG), across tasks with varying loads and ambulation. Twenty-four healthy adults completed 13 sensorimotor tasks before and after a cognitive fatigue protocol. HRV and PRV were calculated using time domain metrics from filtered ECG and PPG signals. Results showed poor agreement between PRV and HRV in all tasks, with significant differences in 11 of 13 conditions. These findings highlight the limitations of PRV from wrist worn devices as a substitute for ECG based HRV in real world assessments of cardiac variability. Future work should focus on better noise reduction techniques, improved sensor placement, and longer recordings to support spectral analysis, as well as larger sample sizes to clarify when PRV can reliably approximate HRV.
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Shanghavi et al. (2025) conducted an observational in Healthy (n=24). Pulse rate variability (PRV) from wrist worn photoplethysmography (PPG) vs. Heart rate variability (HRV) measured via electrocardiography (ECG) was evaluated on Agreement between PRV and HRV. Pulse rate variability from wrist-worn devices showed poor agreement with ECG-based heart rate variability, with significant differences in 11 of 13 conditions.
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