How 50ms HRV predicts mortality

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Our cardiovascular system does not become younger with age and is worth closely monitoring if you want to live longer.

“The relative risk of mortality was 5.3 times higher in the group with heart rate variability (HRV) of less than 50 ms [milliseconds] than the group with heart rate variability (HRV) of more than 100 ms.” - study.

When you’re healthy, the two branches of your Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) — the SNS and PNS — are well-balanced.

An imbalance in your SNS and PNS may be an indicator of heart disease. This has been appreciated since at least 1987, when researchers found that decreased heart rate variability was associated with an increased risk of death after a heart attack.

HRV will tell you about your endurance, susceptibility to stress, show when you're tired and need to rest, and can even warn about an infection before symptoms appear - very relevant for illnesses with long prodromal periods.

HRV is an indicator of autonomic nervous system function, which experts consider an objective measure of physical fitness and body readiness for exercise.

Essentially, it's the difference in time between heartbeats. If your pulse is 60 beats per minute, this doesn't mean your heart beats exactly once per second. During that minute, the time between two beats might be 0.9 seconds, while it might be 1.15 seconds between two other portions. The greater this variability, the more "ready" your body is for physical activity.

What should the variability be?

For the most part, HRV sharply decreases with age. At ages 20-25 years, HRV ranges from 55-105; at ages 60-65 years, HRV ranges from 25-45

HRV is highly individualized - important!

Heart rate variability is an extremely sensitive indicator.

Young people typically have higher HRV than elderly people, and men often have slightly higher HRV than women. Elite athletes typically have higher heart rate variability. It's better to observe your own trends, see how different habits affect variability, and draw conclusions.

Why is HRV low?

Dehydration, Stress, Fatigue, Illness.

How to improve HRV.

1. Smart exercise without overload, allowing body recovery time (HRV drops with frequent training) Hydration.

2. The better hydrated you are, the easier it is for your blood to circulate and deliver oxygen and nutrients to your body.

3. Avoid alcohol. The impact on HRV can last up to five days.

4. Stable, healthy diet. Poor nutrition adversely affects HRV, as does eating at irregular times.

5. Quality sleep matters - not only the amount of sleep but also the quality and duration. It's beneficial to go to bed and wake up simultaneously every day.

How to check HRV?

Welltory app, Apple Watch, Oura ring.

How to correctly interpret HRV data?

The normal range is your best guide, but where do you find it?

So, regarding heart rate variability, should we trust gadget interpretations?

The results might seem confusing when you first start measuring heart rate variability (HRV). A simple "higher is better" approach can be misleading, especially when it happens just like that.

In reality, proper analysis of HRV data requires an individual approach based on your normal range and knowledge of cardiac mathematics ;)

Your normal range is the range of values based on at least 60 days of measurement history.

What we'll see over 60 days:

• Random changes occur daily, for example, after intense exercise or stress.

• Chronic changes are long-term trends, such as decreased HRV over several weeks due to lack of sleep or illness.

Why aren’t there universal norms?

First, HRV varies greatly from person to person. Some people might have higher normal values, others lower.

Second, daily HRV fluctuations are normal. Without considering the normal range, you might misinterpret this data, thinking any small decrease indicates a problem when it might be a normal body response to stress.

How do you find your normal range?

Many gadgets and applications now measure HRV, but wearable gadgets work best.

Example: Even if your HRV over the last 60 days varied between 20 and 40 ms, HRV values within this range are considered normal.

If your HRV suddenly drops to 10 ms or rises to 80 - this might signal increased stress levels or fatigue that require attention.

However, if we remember what variability means in a biological sense, it's easy to assume that increased heart rate variability can also indicate overload, especially in the presence of stress and concurrent diseases. Not all devices are ready to provide good analytics here.

Example of two studies showing that increased variability predicts cardiovascular events in diabetics; however, in non-diabetics, decreased HRV creates cardiovascular disease risks.

Another study on sleep apnea showed that HRV increases and predicts disorders in the sympathetic nervous system.

Despite the ambiguity of gadget data, I still prefer to measure on several devices at once - it's my thing.

Working with gadgets is a breakthrough for specialists, but knowing how to use them is important!

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