Does the Charge 4 calculate HRV accurately?

[Seanseaton]

I have been recently playing with new hrv update and after some benchmarks, research from experts and manual calculations it appears that hrv measures are inaccurate in general across all advanced watches and bands.  Is this the case for you as well?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[RMFT8011]

Exactly the same for me. Excellent cv health but a hrv of 22! 😩😩😩.

I’m so glad I researched this. I was freaking out. I am excellent cv health but a hrv of 22. I have sleep apnea and I’m a hypochondriac!  I feel better now!

Moderator edit: merged reply

[sousbee]

I'm using "welltory" app, no other gizmos needed.  That score is 4x higher than my versa 3 reading. New at this, trying to just concentrate on heart stuff (my cardiologist suggested I get this to help him track my arrythemia), have premium, wish it was easier to figure out.  Versa hrv reading indicates I am on death's doorstep.  I am calling their help line today.

[LakeFit]

My HRV is low on the Fitbit also, in the 40s, but I consider myself very fit at time time. I had been worried by the lower metrics!

[sousbee]

Mine on fitbit is 17. On welltory app it 80.  Lordy you can drive yourself nuts with this stuff.  

Stay safe everyone.

[Asynca]

Thank goodness - I was driving myself nuts with this stuff! It said my HRV was 25, and while I am pregnant and HRV decreases a little during pregnancy (and have a lot of gripes about the fact FitBit doesn't have a useful pregnancy mode for lots of metrics), I'm also reasonably fit so it was an awful shock! I think I'll just ignore the HRV reading for now and focus on other wellness measures 😅

[FitJiO1836]

Phew! I just upgraded to a Charge 4. All my other readings are very good to excellent, but the HRV is consistently 20 or lower. I have MS so I am very focused on health issues. What a relief to read what others are writing about low HRV readings on Fitbit.

[LakeFit]

My hrv numbers are still low so I am hoping the Fitbit numbers are inaccurate. 


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[SnowboardBabe]

I upgraded from versa 2 to charge 4 about 10 months ago.   My HRV has been about 120 to 180 (yes thats what it says) since I got it.  My sleeping HR  between 38 and 42 ( that’s seems pretty low). I will hike with my partner, his Fitbit says 200+ flights of stairs. Mine says 120.   No change to my lifestyle and my cardio fitness dropped by almost 10 points after the switch.... etc... etc...   Fitbit help desk  says I’m likely wearing it wrong. No I’m not.  I’ve had a Fitbit for over 5 years.     It’s a fun toy not a tool.  Mind you the GPS is good, though I have had it turn off by itself when I wear it under lots of clothes (winter).  Note: I’m a 60 year old female jogger - 5’8. 130 lbs. no Olympic athlete.  Am I a bit disappointed - yes.   

[SunsetRunner]

agree mine is super low too! was very concerned ...expecially as all other measures positve

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same Kelly my HRV 18 but everything else positve and excellent

[cath_m]

Exactly the same here! Very scary numbers from 20-22! I hope this is just way off. Judging from everybody else's responses, it looks like the Charge 4 is just not up to the job.

[Jack_H]

I've been getting results in the 20s and 30s too, yet I've got a VO2 max of 48, I run 15 miles a week, am a regular competitive fencer, and generally consider myself pretty fit. I drink alcohol very rarely, don't smoke and drink 1 cup of coffee a day. The HRV stats don't seem to chime with that....hmmm

[YiannisP]

Well after a few months of using the Charge 4, I thought I'd post a small review. Yes, HRV does not seem trustworthy. Here's how mine looks like for the last month:

 

That's been typical (averaging at around 70-75 over 4 months) but it has gone up to 600 on one occasion and 2-3 more times over 200 (lower about 40). So yeah, does not seem robust. One thing I've noticed quite predictably is that I'm posting my lower values almost always after intense exercise, which perhaps makes sense. I think the heart rate itself is quite OK (largely agreeing to 1bpm with my Suunto which I've also worn while sleeping all this time to compare the two) and also not far from my Polar strap.  What I really bought this for though was the sleep tracking and I'm afraid it has been a bit of a disappointment there. Seems like it correlates increased HR with deep sleep, which doesn't make sense to me, but what do I know. In this respect its algorithm seems completely different to my Suunto's, which overall shows increased sleep quality the lower the HR.

Overall it's not that great, not sure I'm keeping it or giving it to my mum (I do have the purple one after all:). I'll just keep the Suunto whose GPS is much superior (but its HR is mush worse when moving, but I'm always pairing it with the Polar strap nowadays when exercising so no problem).

[AmandaStormy]

Mine is in the 20s too and it freaked me out as well!!

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My Fitbit is fitting correctly as I sleep and I'm getting HRV in the 20s every night. 

[YiannisP]

Well I think that since so many of you get readings of about 20 HRV (most probably bogus), it'd be interesting if one of you made the step and bought a proper HR monitor (like the Polar H10) and get the real HRV reading so that we know for sure (well almost) that the fitbit is way off. I'd do it but given my HRV readings are on average normal, chances are it is not going to prove the fitbit wrong.

[vidushigupta]

My fitbit charge 4 showed my hrv <30ms which shocked me. I think the data is not correct.

[Toby1kenobi]

Thank god I found this forum. Mine has been in the 20s was starting to think maybe I needed a trip to the doctor as I am only 45 yo.   Glad to see I'm not only one, finding this issue. Phew.

[LakeFit]

Thanks for responding. I’m glad I am not the only one! 

[MeinFitB]

same here

[miteph]

I am also getting a low hrv number - usually in the 20's, but my fitness level is rated excellent.  

[PatrickUMB]

I dont think many of the extras on Fitbit are accurate. Im in decent shape officiating college football I run 5 days a week, plus do insanity in the off-season. My HRV is 15 and my cardio fitness score keeps dropping!