Our latest study “Assessing shortened field-based heart rate variability data acquisition in team-sport athletes” is now available ahead of print in IJSPP.

This project was a collaboration with Dr. Fabio Nakamura, Lucas Pereira, Dr. Irineu Loturco and Dr. Rodrigo Ramirez-Campillo. We have several more papers in production, in review and in press, so stay tuned for those.

This study expands on previous work of ours (link, link) that  assessed the agreement between ultra-short (60 s) HRV measures with standard 5 minute measures (following a 5 min stabilization period). This study differs from our previous work in a few key areas:

1. We assessed HRV (LnRMSSD) in the seated position here versus the supine position previously. Having to accommodate to the seated position may take longer than the supine position due to the vertical positioning and extra stress on the heart. Additionally, the seated position has been suggested in recent review papers to be the preferred position for athlete monitoring. Therefore, investigation into the time-course for HRV stabilization (i.e., how long must we wait to achieve a stable R-R signal), in addition to the agreement between ultra-short measures and the criterion (5 min post 5 min stabilization) segment from seated measures is required.

2. This study also evaluated the ratio between LnRMSSD and the R-R interval (LnRMSSD:R-R). Previous work has shown that highly fit athletes can demonstrate “parasympathetic saturation” which is characterized by a decrease in HRV despite very low resting heart rates. Daniel Plews et al. describe this phenomenon in their recent review paper: “The underlying mechanism is likely the saturation of acetylcholine receptors at the myocyte level: a heightened vagal tone may give rise to sustained parasympathetic control of the sinus node, which may eliminate respiratory heart modulation and reduce
HRV.”

3. In our previous studies we used an ECG for HRV analysis which is considered the gold standard, though not very practical for routine monitoring. In this study we used the Polar RS800,  a field tool heart rate monitor system that is more commonly used in practical settings.

4. Lastly, this study included elite level athletes whereas our previous work included collegiate athletes.

Our results show that the first 5 min LnRMSSD value (stabilization period) was not different than the criterion segment (mins 5-10). Additionally, we found that each isolated minute from the stabilization period (i.e., min 0-1, 1-2, 2-3, etc.) showed good agree with the criterion. Therefore, when 5 minute measures cannot be obtained due to time constraints or for compliance reasons, 60 s measures appear suitable for valid assessment, in agreement with our previous investigations.

In our next paper (in press) we assess if ultra-short LnRMSSD measures are sensitive to training effects in elite athletes.

Abstract
Purpose: The aims of this study was to compare the LnRMSSD and the LnRMSSD:RR values obtained during a 5-min stabilization period with the subsequent 5-min criterion period and to determine the time course for LnRMSSD and LnRMSSD:RR stabilization at 1-min analysis in elite team-sport athletes. Methods: Thirty-five elite futsal players (23.9 ± 4.5 years; 174.2 ± 4.0 cm; 74.0 ± 7.5 kg; 1576.2 ± 396.3 m in the YoYo test level 1), took part in this study. The RR interval recordings were obtained using a portable heart rate monitor continuously for 10-min in the seated position. The two dependent variables analyzed were the LnRMSSD and the LnRMSSD:RR. To calculate the magnitude of the differences between time periods, the effect size (ES) analysis was conducted. To assess the levels of agreement the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Bland-Altman plots were used. Results: TheLnRMSSD and LnRMSSD:RR values obtained during the stabilization period (i.e., 0-5-min) presented very large to near perfect ICCs with the values obtained during the criterion period (i.e., 5-10-min), with trivial ES. In the ultra-short-term analysis (i.e., 1-min segments) the data showed slightly less accurate results, but only trivial to small differences with very large to near perfect ICCs were found. Conclusion: To conclude, LnRMSSD and LnRMSSD:RR can be recorded in 5-min without traditional stabilization periods under resting conditions in team-sport athletes. The ultra-short-term analysis (i.e., 1-min) also revealed acceptable levels of agreement with the criterion.