ReviewFrontiers in physiology2014
Everything Hertz: methodological issues in short-term frequency-domain HRV.
Review in Frontiers in physiology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 146 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
146 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Exercise and Heart Rate Variability in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine - open · 2025Pooled it
- Is cardiac autonomic control affected in major depressive disorder? A systematic review of heart rate variability studies.Translational psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effects of sleep deprivation on heart rate variability: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Beneficial impacts of physical activity on heart rate variability: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Methods for Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRVB): A Systematic Review and Guidelines.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2023Pooled it
- Alterations in Heart Rate Variability Associated With Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Clinical and translational gastroenterology · 2020Pooled it
- The impact of online-delivered controlled physical activity on cardiorespiratory fitness and heart rate variability in breast cancer survivors.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Regular postexercise sauna bathing does not improve heart rate variability: A multi-arm randomized controlled trial.Physiological reports · 2025Trial
- Autonomic nervous system and endocrine system response to upper or lower cervical spine mobilization in males with persistent post-concussion symptoms: a proof-of-concept trial.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2024Trial
- Modulation of Heart Rate Variability following PAP Ion Magnetic Induction Intervention in Subjects with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Are changes in pain associated with changes in heart rate variability in patients treated for recurrent or persistent neck pain?BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Trial
- The influence of citrus aurantium and caffeine complex versus placebo on the cardiac autonomic response: a double blind crossover design.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2018Trial
- Impact of cigarette smoking on cardiovascular function following high-intensity interval exercise in physically active smokers.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Heart rate variability as a strain parameter in maritime settings: a scoping review of methodological approaches to data collection and analysis in field studies on the high seas.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2026Review
- Immediate Effects of Manual Muscle Stretching on Respiratory Capacity, Heart Rate Variability, and Diaphragmatic Function in Patients With COPD.Annals of rehabilitation medicine · 2026Article
- Autonomic Dysfunction, Psychosocial Factors, and Pain Sensitivity in Persistent Spinal Pain: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Heart Rate Variability and Body Motion as Digital Biomarkers of Task Workload During Military En Route Critical Care Simulations.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Validation of the ultra short term heart rate variability measures under changing psychophysiological state of the healthy participants at rest.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Influence of resilience on autonomic nervous system habituation to repeated stress exposure: Insights from heart rate variability and heart rate response.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
86 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Frequency analysis of the electrocardiographic RR interval is a common method of quantifying autonomic outflow by measuring the beat-to-beat modulation of the heart (heart rate variability; HRV). This review identifies a series of problems with the methods of doing so-the interpretation of low-frequency spectral power, the multiple use of equivalent normalized low frequency (LFnu), high frequency (HFnu) and ratio (LF/HF) terms, and the lack of control over extraneous variables, and reviews research in the calendar year 2012 to determine their prevalence and severity. Results support the mathematical equivalency of ratio units across studies, a reliance on those variables to explain autonomic outflow, and insufficient control of critical experimental variables. Research measurement of HRV has a substantial need for general methodological improvement.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.