Establishing Validity and Reliability of HRV Smartphone Applications: What Have We Really Been Examining?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v16i1.827Keywords:
Heart Rate Variability, Wearable Technology, Cardiovascular Function, Sport ScienceAbstract
Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) has become a regular metric for practitioners assessing the dose-response to exercise. The utility of smartphone applications capable of examining HRV using wearable technology has made this form of cardiac assessment more efficient and effective outside of laboratory settings. Purpose: This opinion piece will discuss the various forms of validity and reliability within research, and their applications towards establishing the accuracy and consistency of HRV smartphone applications. Conclusions: The unremitting creation of new HRV smartphone applications is cause for the continued examination of their validity and reliability. Understanding that the definition of validity has a broad meaning, requires researchers to state the exact form of validity they intend to examine. Furthermore, all forms of validity must be meticulously examined and viewed as equivalent when establishing the accuracy of a smartphone application. When assessing the reliability of an HRV application, researchers should focus on determining the consistency of its error in relation to the gold standard using repeated trials.
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