HRV Heart Rate Varability accuracy - am I dead?

[Jim-C]

PLEASE HELP!! I've spent hours researching online and reading these help forums but still confused. I am 60 years old - resting heart rate is 62 or so daily. My Heart Rate Variability varies between 12ms and 15ms daily - week after week - month after month. There is NO explanation if this is normal or not so I researched and everyone says a reading this low means I'm either dead or dying and bad things are happening to be this low!! That's scary to read.....I am fit - in shape (5'11" - 180lbs) - play sports several times a week (Pickleball / Volleyball /Swim/walk/bike) and more but worry now that something else is happening inside I don't know about. Blood work very good....

[JohnnyRow]

You are apparently still as healthy as when you posted same thing ten days ago.  My non-professional, non-medical suggestion: don't worry about actual numbers but maybe look at trends; different places might measure this differently or have different definitions of it.  If you notice any big change in trend over time, consider that one piece of information along with all the other data you have.  If still concerned, mention it to your doctor.

[Jim-C]

Thanks!!! It's on my list to ask the doctor when I next visit....I try to
only see him once a year so early 2023 but may go sooner as this bothers
me....I was nervous as I had cancer (Full remission) and Colitis (No flares
since 2016) and worked with asbestoes in the 70's and 80's but I stay very
active. Thought maybe I was missing something going on inside me.

You said my other post - yes - I reposted as I never saw a reply to it.
Unless I missed it. I'm not super tech savvy.

[mikethechap]

A couple of things in response: 

• I’ve been tracking my HRV for 8 years. Like a fingerprint, everyone’s a little different and everyone differs over time, even over the course of a day. It’s a measure of polyvagal responsiveness. 
  
  
• I’ve found for myself that it’s an indicator of how well I am/can deal with the stressors of the day. It should not be thought of like an ecg. 
• There is a Fitbit funded study of  HRV using the later versions of Versa. The Fitbit data algorithm appears different from the raw data gathered by other devices like the Polar chest strap. I’m always cautious about industry-funded studies and about non-open algorithms. 
• Use quality HRV data as a small tool over time. In this sense, it’s a very powerful instrument. It has been very helpful in helping me think about how I should approach my day: take a nap, meditate, exercise, eat better, reduce alcohol consumption. If you want more information about vagal responsiveness and the polyvagal theory (HRV is intended to measure vagal responsiveness over time), Stephen Porges is very helpful. 
  
  

I hope this is helpful. 

[Jim-C]

THANK you for your reply! I'll assume something isn't right with my Fitbit because when I researched it for way too many hours - every article said my numbers mean I'm in bad health yet I'm very active - decent blood work - regular checks up and more. Since I first posted my question my HRV hasn't fluctuated at all. It's a straight line of about 10 or 11 which again - according to research - isn't possible. I was actually in a panic over this thinking something wring was going on inside me even though I feel fine. Jim 

[Jim-C]

THANK you for your reply! I'll assume something isn't right with my
Fitbit because when I researched it for way too many hours - every article
said my numbers mean I'm in bad health yet I'm very active - decent blood
work - regular checks up and more. Since I first posted my question my HRV
hasn't fluctuated at all. It's a straight line of about 10 or 11 which
again - according to research - isn't possible. I was actually in a panic
over this thinking something wring was going on inside me even though I
feel fine. Jim

[eltoo]

There are many discussions in other chains about rampant inaccuracies in Fitbit's HRV data.  I just started receiving FB HRV data showing my HRV at 15, which seems quite low and I'm relatively fit with a RHR of 60.  This made me both anxious and even more, curious.  After some online research and reading the other Fitbit community chats, I discovered an app called "Elite HRV", which you can freely download.  It utilizes a polar HR strap to measure your HRV, sync-ed via bluetooth, and I got a reading of 52 on the first try.  There seems to be a view that a chest strap provides more accurate HRV information vs a wrist-based monitor, but I don't know if that's true.

More importantly, the Elite HRV site has numerous articles with useful background on HRV.  One of them has this table below, which indicates that there are multiple HRV software programs that use different metrics to report user HRV (their app metric is the 3rd column).  I don't understand why there are so many different metrics for measuring the same thing.  It's also not clear to me what metric Fitbit is using to report HRV and how it compares to these other metrics.  

I just started using Elite HRV but you could try that to see if it is useful for you.

[Jim-C]

Thanks!! I'll stick with what I have for now and hope one day they can
either fix it or tell me that my range is normal based on their algorithm.
I don't want another device to wear - another APP to look at. Next is to
buy a different brand watch / tracker and see if that works better. My HRV
on my Fitbit went to 9 last week....lately it's been between 12 and 15 most
days. From my (way too much) research - I know that's wrong.