https://wvutoday.wvu.edu/stories/2024/08/26/wvu-research-shows-smart-watch-and-clinical-testing-measures-differ Skip to main content WVU Today ENEWS STUDENT NEWS WVU MAGAZINE WVU Home A-Z Site Index WVU Calendar All Stories Search [ ] [Search] Would you like to search this site specifically, or all WVU websites? (*) Search this site ( ) Search WVU Toggle Search * Home * All Stories * Expert Pitches * Media Advisories WVU research shows smartwatch and clinical testing measures differ Monday, August 26, 2024 Facebook logo Twitter logo LinkedIn logo A graphic showing a hand with a smart watch and another hand holding a phone that shows a graph. New West Virginia University research finds heart rate variability -- the time between heartbeats -- reported on smartwatches and rings is different from what's recorded in clinical settings. (WVU Illustration/Aira Burkhart) Download full-size At a time when usage of smartwatches and rings has become more common, a West Virginia University human performance researcher points out heart rate variability -- the time between heartbeats -- the devices report is different from what would be recorded in a clinical setting. "Heart rate variability has been used for nearly 100 years as a non-invasive measure of the autonomic nervous system, having been linked to overall mortality, cardiovascular health and stress," said Matt Tenan, program director for Human Performance Research and Data Science at the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. "Consumer wearables are reporting heart rate variability data and metrics that previously you would only get in the hospital and a lab setting, but they're recording them differently." Wearables operate with photoplethysmography, or PPG, a technology that shines a light into the skin and produces a reflection of the blood moving just below the finger or wrist to record heart rate. In a hospital, an electrocardiography -- ECG or EKG -- machine measures the heart's electrical activity through electrodes placed on the body. "You're looking at two things, one is blood flow and the other is the electrical signal of the heart," Tenan said. Clinicians and medical scientists are interested in heart rate variability because it's a biomarker for a patient's general system health. Tenan said even if people don't pay particular attention to the measure on their wearable, it still plays a part in their overall wellness picture indicated on the device. "A lot of these devices will give something called a readiness score or a sleep score and one of the primary components of these is the heart rate variability measure," he explained. "People look at these scores to see how they're doing overall, whether their fitness has improved, that sort of thing. But, if a composite is full of a measure that's biased, how accurate is it going to be?" Tenan and colleagues from the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and WVU School of Medicine Department of Exercise Physiology conducted a study to determine the validity of the measures wearables report for heart rate variability. Their work was published in the journal Sports Medicine. Since the wearables measure the pulse instead of the heart's electrical signals, Tenan and his team used data from previous research to conduct a simulation analysis of the process involved when blood moves from the heart to the finger or wrist. "There's a lot going on between when the heart beats and when the blood gets all the way to the arm or wrist, what's called pulse arrival time," Tenan explained. "By simulating that and knowing what's happening at the heart, we determined what's being measured with the consumer wearable is different. It's not to say the consumer wearable is bad or not useful, it's just not the same." To conduct the study, researchers collaborated with the cardiovascular lab at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. The study also found not all wearables are created equally when it comes to the calculations they use to record health measurements. Researchers found the method Apple uses, standard deviation of normal-to-normal, or SDNN, is the most accurate. Other brands implement a system called root mean square standard deviation, RMSSD, which Tenan said produces a wider range of error in the measurement. He said he hopes the study encourages manufacturers of wearables to consider switching their calculations to SDNN. "I don't fundamentally see any reason why any of the wearable companies should be using the RMSSD measure," Tenan said. Findings from the study can be used to build machine learning algorithms for wearables and other similar devices that monitor people's health in their everyday settings. Tenan said he anticipates doing future research on consumer grade wearables. "It will probably be less analytical work and more clinical that will involve working with patients." -WVU- ls/8/26/24 MEDIA CONTACT: Linda Skidmore Health Research Writer WVU Research Communications Linda.Skidmore@hsc.wvu.edu Call 1-855-WVU-NEWS for the latest West Virginia University news and information from WVUToday. infostations School of Medicine Health Headshot of WVU researcher Matt Tenan. He is pictured outside with the background blurred. He is wearing a blue sweater and has short, light brown hair. Matt Tenan, program director, Human Performance Research and Data Science, WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (Submitted Photo) Download full-size Related: * WVU Mining Extension program boasts century-long legacy of excellence * Letter to WVU community provides updates on University presidential search process * WVU BOG shares next steps in the search process for University president * WVU Alumni Association announces 2024 Homecoming and Alumni Service Award honorees * $500K gift to WVU Chambers College expands real-world investment opportunities for students WVUToday Stories By Topic * All Research Stories * All Health Stories * All Athletics Stories * All Alumni Stories * All Extension Stories * All Foundation Stories WVUToday Stories By Month * October 2024 10 * September 2024 27 * August 2024 27 * July 2024 18 * June 2024 23 * May 2024 30 * April 2024 48 * March 2024 39 * February 2024 21 * January 2024 19 * December 2023 10 * November 2023 23 * October 2023 26 * September 2023 21 * August 2023 29 * July 2023 18 * June 2023 24 * May 2023 14 * April 2023 26 * March 2023 21 * February 2023 22 * January 2023 15 * December 2022 11 * November 2022 21 * October 2022 12 * September 2022 31 * August 2022 27 * July 2022 12 * June 2022 19 * May 2022 13 * April 2022 22 * March 2022 23 * February 2022 21 * January 2022 29 * December 2021 22 * November 2021 29 * October 2021 32 * September 2021 33 * August 2021 38 * July 2021 22 * June 2021 42 * May 2021 30 * April 2021 41 * March 2021 37 * February 2021 31 * January 2021 30 * December 2020 26 * November 2020 24 * October 2020 38 * September 2020 48 * August 2020 45 * July 2020 48 * June 2020 39 * May 2020 36 * April 2020 43 * March 2020 53 * February 2020 29 * January 2020 27 * December 2019 16 * November 2019 31 * October 2019 54 * September 2019 45 * August 2019 32 * July 2019 24 * June 2019 44 * May 2019 43 * April 2019 61 * March 2019 53 * February 2019 34 * January 2019 36 * December 2018 30 * November 2018 48 * October 2018 76 * September 2018 50 * August 2018 51 * July 2018 28 * June 2018 46 * May 2018 41 * April 2018 73 * March 2018 57 * February 2018 50 * January 2018 57 * December 2017 41 * November 2017 53 * October 2017 76 * September 2017 85 * August 2017 69 * July 2017 51 * June 2017 78 * May 2017 64 * April 2017 68 * March 2017 99 * February 2017 69 * January 2017 66 * December 2016 63 Archive Prior to 2017 * Accreditations * Web Standards * Privacy Notice * Questions or Comments? 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