Measure HRV with Ionic

[SunsetRunner]

Will the sensors be sufficiently precise to measure HRV?

I do realize you advertise PurePulse as your go to solution, but I'm specifically interested in heart rate variability.

Please do tell if that is something you're still evaluating and may not deliver at the release of the Ionic but still consider to ship as a firmware/software update at a later date.

Thank you!

[SunsetRunner]

Given that Fitbit were embracing HRV with the Charge 2, I'd imagine the Ionic is more than capable. But a good question to be answered as to whether they will provide something other than an analysis and interpretation to suggest a personalised breathing program.

[bbarrera]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

Given that Fitbit were embracing HRV with the Charge 2

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Fitbit embraced Personalized Breathing as a feature. Fitbit isn't really talking about HRV, the accuracy, how much it personalizes the breathing recommendations, etc.

In the software world I tell my customers "don't buy futures" - so don't expect much on HRV front because Fitbit isn't talking it up.

As always, would like to be surprised. With Ionic I suspect Fitbit is going to be more focused on fully implementing the key features the CEO talked up at press launch - Sleep Apnea tracking (spo2 sensor), making deals with banks to accept payments, and getting Spotify offline music onto Ionic.

[JohnnyRow]

I don't recall seeing any trackers that will tell you actual HRV. I think several are trying to measure it and using it for features such as breathing exercise or stress level, without actually reporting HRV. For one thing, it's hard to criticize or sue for something as subjective as stress level or breathing exercise. And I think I read Fitbit hopes to eventually use it for apnea detection.

[bbarrera]

Fitbit hopes to use spo2 sensor for sleep apnea detection.

It seems Garmin/Fitbit/etc believe their HRM is good enough to estimate HRV when you are sitting or at rest, thats why you see features like stress level (Garmin) and guided breathing (Fitbit). 

What you don't see is HRV estimation during exercise, that still requires a chest strap and at least for me (using Garmin bike computer) the HRV info is used to provide recommendation on:

- readiness, shown 8 minutes into a ride

- hours of recovery, after the ride is finished

[Mark2018]

And still no updates when all sensors will be released! 😞

[Outlier]

I just bought the FitBit Ionic today.  There's a clock face called "Heart Beats" that shows your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measurements for the last 30 minutes.  It seems to be an interesting measurement that I never looked at before.  I tried looking for HRV in the FitBit app but couldn't find anything, not in the watch nor logging in to the FitBit website.  This is something that could (and probably should) be added in some future FitBit update since the technology is already there to take the measurement.

[Mark2018]

Hi,

Looks great!

Thank you to the app creator!

[Mark2018]

Hi,

not for Fitbit but maybe interesting for someone:

Android app: Heart Rate Variability (HRV) camera.

Regards

Mark

[TheSpineDoc]

That's awesome.  To correct sleep apnea, you need to focus on the structural integrity of the neurological cord, the spinal cord.  Most people these days have excessive forward head posture.  You can see this externally when its excessive. However, even when its externally hard to see (for lay-people) an xray distinguishes that its actually highly excessive structurally and has been for decades.

While HRV and Sleep Detection are great for monitoring improvements and acknowledging a problem exists, they are seldom decades behind the curve (no pun intended) for truly helping correct a problem before it starts.