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Measuring heart rate variability (HRV) with Kubios

Markus83

Senior Member
Messages
277
In light of the recent study (see this thread), I would like to ask if anyone here determines heart rate variability?

I myself work for the evaluation with the PC based software Kubios. It is a professional, well documented, free software from scientists at a Finnish university. You can use it to process raw ECG data as well as pulse intervals (of e.g. chest straps).

I myself use a Polar H10 as chest strap and a tablet with Elite HRV to record the measurement. From Elite HRV I export the data as a text file and import it into Kubios.

I think it would be interesting if we could collect data from several users and recommend that we use Kubios for evaluation (for comparability).

What do you think about this? Everyone would need at least a heart rate belt and a tablet, plus a PC. If there is general interest, I can also write some things about it (e.g. installation, export and import of data, evaluation).
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,249
I myself use a Polar H10 as chest strap and a tablet with Elite HRV to record the measurement. From Elite HRV I export the data as a text file and import it into Kubios.

I've started using my blood pressure cuff to better notice whats up with heart rate. And there are my stairs.

And its a clear straight race to 100 if I go up and down a second time.

Suspicious that I would not like wearing the device, or the chest strap likely would bug me.... (most anything abnormal does...) (I'm wearing an elbow support right now, and its bothering me in multiple ways). .. I think I can just TELL when its getting too high....

Also...resting heart rate can be used to tell us something about- if we are overdoing... it its a day one should rest and not do to much. I am trying to get that pinned down....
 

Markus83

Senior Member
Messages
277
Can you use a fitbit or smart watch that has continuous HR monitoring?
You need a device which works with a smart phone (e.g. via bluetooth) and has support from the App EliteHRV. I don't know if this is the case with your mentioned hardware.

From EliteHRV you can just export the raw data as a textfile. So this is just a workaround to get the raw data. In the end, you need a textfile with RR values (difference between two heart beats in milli-seconds - this is the data Kubios works with).
 

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,334
Location
Southern California
I've started using my blood pressure cuff to better notice whats up with heart rate. And there are my stairs.
@Rufous McKinney - heart rate variability (HRV) is different than the heart rate you measure with your BP cuff:
Heart rate variability or HRV is the physiological phenomenon of the variation in the time interval between consecutive heartbeats in milliseconds. A normal, healthy heart does not tick evenly like a metronome, but instead, when looking at the milliseconds between heartbeats, there is constant variation. In general, we are not acutely aware of this variation; it’s not the same as the heart rate (beats per minute) increasing and decreasing as we go about our daily business. You can get a sense of your HRV if you feel your pulse on your wrist while taking a few deep breaths in and out: the interval between beats gets longer (heart rate slows down) when you exhale and shorter (heart rate increases) when you inhale, a phenomenon called respiratory sinus arrhythmia. In addition to respiration, HRV is influenced acutely for example by exercise, hormonal reactions, metabolic processes, cognitive processes, stress and recovery.

Reliable HRV analysis requires accurate measurement of each heartbeat and the time between beats.
https://www.firstbeat.com/en/blog/what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv/
 

mariovitali

Senior Member
Messages
1,214
Last edited:

mariovitali

Senior Member
Messages
1,214
I just wanted to share some more things regarding my experiences with HRV and sympathetic nervous system activity : I believe (so putting a hypothesis here) that elevated SNS activity is just another symptom of ME. The proposed mechanism is through excitotoxic events originating from impaired glutamate metabolism / clearance. Quinolinic acid (Kynurenine pathway) may also be the problem , which is also excitotoxic.

I had to do all the wrong things to induce crashes and to see the pattern that would hold. One crash after another led to increases of SNS activity, low HRV , diminished food intake (basically loss of appetite), bloating, irregular heartbeat, minimal motility on my gut and of course constipation. Also it was a bad idea to eat at night a large portion (whenever i was able to or was forcing myself to eat) because that would lead to waking up in the middle of the night, feeling that the food was not being digested.

It was very interesting to see how all of these symptoms would change by submerging my face into cold water. Within a couple of minutes i would start burping and the bloating on my stomach and intestines would go. Slow breathing works also very well but it requires to do it for many minutes. The "face in the cold water" has a more direct effect but doesn't last as long as slow breathing does.

By watching at the application (i used EliteHRV) i was able to find the exact breath in-breath out rate that would have the larger effect (=largest increase on HRV).

Again, based on my observations HRV has nothing to do with being the cause of ME but increasing HRV may help you with some symptoms.
 

Markus83

Senior Member
Messages
277
@Cipher: I don't know EliteHRV in detail as I use it only for data capturing. But I think the EliteHRV (at least the free version) is more or less thought for lay people.

Kubios is used in many scientific studies and is very good documented. Its used algorithms are transparent and implemented according to the Task Force of The European Society of Cardiology and The North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. It has many different analyzed parameters (time and frequency domain, nonlinear).