Agreement between Electrocardiogram and Heart Rate Meter Is Low for the Measurement of Heart Rate Variability during Exercise in Young Endurance Horses.
Authors: Lenoir Augustin, Trachsel Dagmar S, Younes Mohamed, Barrey Eric, Robert Céline
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Heart Rate Variability Measurement Reliability in Exercising Horses Heart rate variability analysis is increasingly used to evaluate training responses and equine welfare, yet the validity of this approach depends entirely on accurate detection of inter-beat intervals (RR intervals)—a task performed by two commonly available technologies: heart rate metres (HRMs) and electrocardiograms (ECGs). Augustin and colleagues conducted simultaneous recordings on 36 young endurance horses during standardised exercise (walk and canter) using both devices, then compared the resulting HRV measures using statistical agreement analyses. Whilst mean heart rate and mean RR interval showed acceptable concordance between devices, five key HRV parameters (SDNN, RMSSD, SD1, SD2, low and high frequency measures) demonstrated poor agreement, with discrepancies worsening as exercise intensity increased. For practitioners relying on HRV data to inform training decisions or assess welfare, this finding carries important implications: results obtained from HRM and ECG recordings cannot be used interchangeably, and switching devices or comparing horses across different measurement systems may yield misleading conclusions—making it essential to standardise your equipment choice and recognise that device-specific software filtering and data processing substantially influence the final output.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Do not mix HRM and ECG data when tracking HRV changes in individual horses over time—choose one device and stick with it for longitudinal comparisons
- •Be cautious interpreting published HRV studies without knowing which recording device was used, as results are device-dependent and not directly comparable
- •For detailed HRV analysis during exercise (especially above trot), ECG recording is more reliable than HRM; however, HRM is acceptable for basic heart rate and RR interval monitoring
Key Findings
- •Agreement between ECG and HRM devices was acceptable only for mean RR interval and mean heart rate, but poor for SDNN, RMSSD, SD1, SD2, and frequency domain measures
- •Agreement between devices deteriorated as exercise intensity increased from light exercise to canter
- •Software corrections and data processing algorithms in HRM and ECG devices significantly affect HRV output values
- •HRM and ECG devices cannot be considered interchangeable for HRV analysis during equine exercise testing