Validity of the Polar V800 heart rate monitor to measure RR intervals at rest.

David Giles,William Neil,Nick Draper

doi:10.1007/s00421-015-3303-9

David Giles, William Neil + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3303-9

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Abstract

PurposeTo assess the validity of RR intervals and short-term heart rate variability (HRV) data obtained from the Polar V800 heart rate monitor, in comparison to an electrocardiograph (ECG).MethodTwenty participants completed an active orthostatic test using the V800 and ECG. An improved method for the identification and correction of RR intervals was employed prior to HRV analysis. Agreement of the data was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), Bland–Altman limits of agreement (LoA), and effect size (ES).ResultsA small number of errors were detected between ECG and Polar RR signal, with a combined error rate of 0.086 %. The RR intervals from ECG to V800 were significantly different, but with small ES for both supine corrected and standing corrected data (ES <0.001). The bias (LoA) were 0.06 (−4.33 to 4.45 ms) and 0.59 (−1.70 to 2.87 ms) for supine and standing intervals, respectively. The ICC was >0.999 for both supine and standing corrected intervals. When analysed with the same HRV software no significant differences were observed in any HRV parameters, for either supine or standing; the data displayed small bias and tight LoA, strong ICC (>0.99) and small ES (≤0.029).ConclusionsThe V800 improves over previous Polar models, with narrower LoA, stronger ICC and smaller ES for both the RR intervals and HRV parameters. The findings support the validity of the Polar V800 and its ability to produce RR interval recordings consistent with an ECG. In addition, HRV parameters derived from these recordings are also highly comparable.

Highlights

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive tool, which allows the exploration of cardiovascular autonomic function through the measurement of variations in RR intervals (Thayer et al 2012)
The V800 improves over previous Polar models, with narrower limits of agreement (LoA), stronger intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and smaller effect size (ES) for both the RR intervals and HRV parameters
The findings support the validity of the Polar V800 and its ability to produce RR interval recordings consistent with an ECG

Summary

Introduction

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive tool, which allows the exploration of cardiovascular autonomic function through the measurement of variations in RR intervals (Thayer et al 2012). In a clinical setting, reduced HRV has been shown to unfavourably reflect prognoses for cardiovascular disease, diabetic neuropathy, arterial hypertension, acute myocardial infarction and other heart conditions (Spallone et al 2011; Thayer et al 2010; Yi et al 2014). Heart rate variability may provide an insight into the capacity of an organism to function effectively in complex environmental, physiological and psychological conditions (Thayer et al 2012). Heart rate variability has been found to be a valuable measure in a variety of sports settings with the measurement of many factors including overtraining, recovery, endurance training, and exercise (Makivić et al 2013)

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