Heart Rate Variability

What is a Heart Rate Variability Chart?

Heart rate variability charts provide a valuable tool for assessing the health of your autonomic nervous system, the branch of the nervous system that controls involuntary functions such as heart rate, respiration, and digestion. By measuring the variation in time between each heartbeat, HRV charts can reveal imbalances in the ANS, which can indicate underlying health conditions or stress levels.

Heart rate variation tends to decrease with age when looking at a heart rate variation chart by age. This is due to a natural decline in the function of the autonomic nervous system. Heart rate variation values are generally higher in younger adults and lower in older adults. However, there is a wide range of normal heart rate variation values, and it is important to compare your heart rate variation to a reference population for your age.

Heart rate variation also differs based on gender when looking at a heart rate variation chart by gender. Men typically have higher heart rate variation values than women when plotted on a chart. This difference is most commonly due to the effects of hormones on the autonomic nervous system. However, there is a significant overlap in heart rate variation values between men and women, and it is important to consider individual factors such as age, fitness level, and overall health when interpreting heart rate variation chart results.

Regularly monitoring heart rate variation using charts can help identify trends and patterns in your autonomic nervous system activity. By understanding how your heart rate variation responds to different situations and lifestyle factors, you can make informed decisions to optimize your overall health and well-being.

How Does it Work?

How to use a printable heart rate variability chart:

Collect Relevant Information

Gather the following details for the chart:

• Your age, gender, and general health status
• Your heart rate data is typically measured in beats per minute (BPM). This can be gathered using a heart rate tracking app or a wearable fitness device such as a smartwatch or heart rate strap. 
• The date and time of each heart rate variation measurement
• Any relevant factors that may affect your heart rate variation, such as exercise, stress levels, or sleep patterns

Download or Print the Form

You can find printable heart rate variability charts on Carepatron’s website. Once you have the chart, print it out or save it to your computer for easy access.

Record Your Heart Rate

Manually enter your heart rate variability data into the chart, including each measurement's date, time, and heart rate variability value. You can also use a graph to visualize your heart rate variability data over time.

Calculate Heart Rate Variability Parameters

If your chart doesn't automatically calculate HRV parameters, you can use formulas to calculate them yourself. Some common HRV parameters include:

• Average heart rate variation: The average time between consecutive heartbeats, typically measured in milliseconds (ms)
• Standard Deviation of Normal-to-Normal Intervals: A measure of the overall variability in heart rate variation

Analyze and Compare

Analyze your heart rate variation data by comparing it to reference ranges for your age and gender. You can also track heart rate variation trends by consistently monitoring your heart rate variation and tracking trends over time so it can help you identify changes in your autonomic nervous system activity and make informed decisions about your health and lifestyle.

When Would You Use This Chart?

Specific examples of when the heart rate variability chart may be used include: 

• Monitoring overall health as heart rate variability can be used as a general indicator of cardiovascular health and overall well-being. Regularly tracking heart rate variability can help identify trends and patterns that may suggest the need for further evaluation or lifestyle changes.
• Heart rate variation is sensitive to stress, and lower heart rate variation values can be associated with chronic stress. Monitoring heart rate variation can help individuals identify stress triggers and track the effectiveness of stress management interventions.
• Heart rate variation patterns can provide insights into the quality of sleep an individual is getting. Lower heart rate variability during sleep may indicate sleep disturbances or underlying sleep disorders.
• Heart rate variation can be used to guide exercise training intensity and recovery. Monitoring heart rate variation can help athletes optimize their training programs and avoid overtraining.
• In the context of cardiovascular disease, heart rate variation can provide additional information about autonomic function and risk stratification.

Individuals of all ages and fitness levels can use HRV charts. However, they can be specifically useful to people who: 

• Have chronic health conditions as monitoring heart rate variability can help manage chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
• Athletes and fitness enthusiasts to optimize their training and recovery strategies.
• Individuals seeking to improve stress management
• Healthcare professionals find heart rate variability charts useful to assess patient health, monitor treatment effectiveness, and identify potential health risks.

What do the Results Mean?

On a heart rate variability chart, the results are typically represented by numbers or graphs that indicate the variation in time between heartbeats. Results can vary but are generally grouped into scores that fall into the higher class and lower class of heart rate variation. 

Higher heart rate variation values are generally considered to be good, as they suggest a well-balanced autonomic nervous system and a lower risk of cardiovascular health problems. Heart rate variation values above 70 milliseconds (ms) are often considered to be healthy for adults, while values below 50 ms may indicate an overactive sympathetic nervous system.

Lower HRV values are generally considered to be bad, as they may indicate an overactive sympathetic nervous system and an increased risk of cardiovascular problems. Heart rate variation values below 50 ms may be associated with chronic stress, poor sleep quality, or underlying health conditions.

It is important to note that heart rate variation values can vary greatly from person to person and can be influenced by a range of factors, including age, gender, fitness level, stress levels, sleep quality, medications, and medical conditions. Therefore, it is important to consult with a healthcare professional for personalized interpretation and guidance if there is reason for concern. 

Research & Evidence

Research highlights the importance of utilizing Heart Rate Variability charts when understanding autonomic nervous system tone and assessing cardiovascular risk. As a diagnostic tool, HRV assessment plays a vital role in detecting autonomic impairment and predicting prognosis in various neurological disorders. Simple and sophisticated HRV analyses, incorporating time, frequency domain, and nonlinear metrics, prove effective in identifying early autonomic involvement. Altered HRV parameters also correlate with cardiovascular risk, emphasizing the importance of HRV charts in managing patients with neurological conditions (Cygankiewicz & Zareba, 2013). 

The reliability of heart rate variability charts extends to providing a strong understanding of the physiological factors influencing the heart's normal rhythm. These charts serve as a powerful tool for observing the intricate interplay between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, revealing nonlinear contributions to the signal-generating structure. 

Given the naturally fluctuant nature of heart rate, heart rate variability offers valuable indicators of current or potentially impending cardiac diseases. Analyzing heart rate variability through computer-based tools and printable PDF charts facilitates the noninvasive assessment of autonomic nervous system activities, particularly when there is extensive and thorough data collected over extended periods. The utilization of heart rate variation data, extracted and analyzed by computers, emerges as a highly effective diagnostic approach, incorporating various in-depth analysis techniques to measure heart rate variation (Rajendra Acharya et al., 2006). 

References

Cygankiewicz, I., & Zareba, W. (2013). Heart rate variability. Autonomic Nervous System, 379–393. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-444-53491-0.00031-6

MediaWize. (2022, July 19). Eric Levine Explains Heart-Rate Variability for Athletes. OCNJ Daily. https://ocnjdaily.com/eric-levine-explains-heart-rate-variability-athletes/

Rajendra Acharya, U., Paul Joseph, K., Kannathal, N., Lim, C. M., & Suri, J. S. (2006). Heart rate variability: a review. Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, 44(12), 1031–1051. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-006-0119-0

What is a Good HRV? | Heart Rate Variability. (2020, January 30). WHOOP. https://www.whoop.com/us/en/thelocker/what-is-a-good-hrv/