heart rate variability
Beat timing variation
Heart rate variability is the fluctuation in time intervals between consecutive heartbeats.
Higher variability generally indicates better cardiovascular health and stress resilience, while low variability can signal fatigue, illness, or chronic stress.
Athletes and health enthusiasts track HRV to optimize training and recovery: My heart rate variability tanked after that red-eye flight.
- time-domain analysisStudying signals through duration
- low frequencyRarely happening or appearing
- high frequencyMany oscillations per second
- vagus nerveMajor parasympathetic cranial pathway
- autonomic nervous systemSelf-regulating bodily control network
nervous system regulation · coherence · spectral analysis · stress management · cardiac cycle · deep breathing · sleep hygiene · cold plunge · pulse · wearable devices · heartbeat · parasympathetic · sympathetic nervous system · fight or flight · beat · exercise · athlete · stress
heart rate variabilitycardiovascular disease
Ailment of circulatory organs
metabolic syndrome · chronic inflammation · mortality risk · heart failure