Articles – HRV Health

The HRV Health articles:

Understanding the Poincaré plot
The Poincaré plot is a great way to visualise your data, and see whether you’re on a good day. It can also provide profound insights into your general health status.

Recovering from illness or injury using HRV
HRV is the measure of the immune system. Both injury and illness cause a drop in the HRV metrics, particularly the resting heart rate and the rMSSD. HRV provides an accurate measure of the recovery process.

Which heart rate monitor should you get
The HRV Health apps only work with H9 and H10 Polar heart rate monitors: which one should you get?

HRV Research
A comprehensive list of the research that estabilishes the science and standards behind the HRV Health technology.

Understanding the numbers
Getting familiar with all the metrics that HRV Health produces can seem daunting at first. What is good? What is bad? What should you be looking for?

Your heart is your personal pathologist
The stethoscope is the signature symbol of medical professionals. The heart beat has been used to deterine health for hundred of years. Heart rate variability uses signals from the heart to establish how healthy you really are, and measure the impact of lifestyle on your chances of leading a good quality of life in the coming years.

Trouble shooting the HRV Health apps
This page provides users with instructions of how to solve common problems that the may come across when using the HRV Health apps.

HRV Health: what should you read?
For new HRV Health members the amount of material appears overwhelming. This is a guide to make it less daunting.

HRV and overtraining
Overtraining is a syndrome. Symptoms are decreased heart rate variability, an elevated resting heart rate, and an inability to reach maximum pulse rate in anaerobic training. It is also associated with fatigue, in the context of continuous high intensity exercise. It can be serious and can have long terms effects when diagnosis is delayed.

Measuring HRV
HRV results vary according to how and when they are measured. Taking good readings produces reliable results. These are guidelines for getting the best results.

Using the HRV Health Pro app
Using the HRV Health Pro app simplifies the registration process and allows users take readings, and see their results all from within the app.

Starting out with HRV Health
Heart rate variabiolity lets people see themselves in a new and fascinating way. It becomes a voyage of self exploration. We encourage our users to make their discoveries.

Why HRV Health is free
There are many people who think that because something is free, that is what it is worth. HRV Health is free to our users, and this is why it will remain so, even when people underestimate the value.

Improving the numbers
Improved health produces improved HRV results. This is a case study of how to get healthier.

Using HRV Health Android version 3
The Android HRV Health version 3 has been released in the Google Play store. It has the same functionality as the iOS HRV Health Pro app, only better.

HRV and recovery
HRV Health’s primary focus is general health. That said, we have an increasing number of users who are athletes, and obtain valuable information for their training from the HRV data.

Using wearables to measure HRV
Are wearable devices reliable for measuring HRV? We tested the latest Garmin Fenix 7X to find out. The results were surprising.

Stress and HRV
Stress kills! Two of the most powerful metrics the daily HRV reading produces measure stress. This article will help you to understand the metrics, and give you tips on how to lower your stress levels.

Exercising with HRV
HRV has been helping elite athletes to achieve peak performance it for the past couple of decades. At HRV Health, we have developed algorithms that assist athletes to achieve their best, and our tests prove that they are effective. This is a service only available during the trial period, and after that to subscribers. The way you exercise, and types of exercise has a profound impact on your health, and this is reflected in the HRV Health metrics.

Ageing, exercise, and HRV
Proven to protect against a wide array of diseases, exercise may be the most powerful anti-aging intervention known to science. As we age, our fitness drops off faster, and recovery takes longer. Our training needs to adapt so that it stays fun, while still being effective.

The benefits of measuring Heart Rate Variability
Heart rate variability gives users a daily measure of their health status. It also provides the elite athlete with a powerful metric of how their body is responding to training.

Breathing to improve your health
We’re always interested when any of our users start getting better HRV numbers. This is how they are doing it.

HRV Health articles by popularity
A list of the HRV Health articles by popularity

Using HRV for recovery
Athletes use HRV extensively to measure their state of recovery. This is one of the most powerful tools in the arsenal of modern technologies that give the leading athletes the edge of the competition.

Using the iOS app for the first time
For first time users, the iOS HRV Health app is a confusing array of buttons. This is an easy guide to using the app for the first time.

Heart Rate Variability: From Standard ECG Monitors to Wearables
Evangelia Athanasiou provides clarity on how high end consumer devices provide metrics able to meet medical standards.

Reversing ageing with HRV
As we get older our health deteriorates. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures health, and that decline in health appears as lower HRV.

HRV and ageing
Age is a disease. That's Dr David Sinclair’s point. It has all of the symptoms of a disease, and the only reason that it’s not classified as a disease is because everyone suffers it.

The Healthcare crises
Healthcare costs are rising at an unsustainable rate. In America they are already 17.9% of GDP. The other rich economies are on the same trajectory. Yet even with their sophisticated healthcare systems, it is these same countries whose hospitals were overwhelmed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The data show us why.

Using HRV Health iOS app v2
The ECG version of the HRV Health App has new features. It checks that the app is connected to the heart rate monitor, and that the user is wearing the device. It also permits users to take an ECG reading. This is an easy guide to the new version.

Richie
Richie has an amazing story. He's unassuming, so he says otherwise. In his early 40s, he has a beautiful wife, two lovely children, and a successful business in Vietnam. As the COVID pandemic took grip on the world, and the parts of the business were forced to close, he received some chilling news:

Sleep, health and HRV
Doctors often prescribe sleep as the remedy to illness. It’s true that sleep is critical in the prevention of Alzheimers Disease, various cancers, diabetes, hypertension, pneumonia, heart disease and even the common cold.

What to do when you are ill
What do you do when your HRV figures plummet and you don’t feel well. Low HRV figures are a signal. Athletes see it when they take a reading immediately after an intense workout. Post workout readings are dramatic. The reading an hour later shows the powers of recovery, with numbers often better than the morning reading.

Alcohol and HRV
The effect of alcohol can be clearly seen in the HRV metrics after a heavy night of drinking. The impact is astonishing.

Most common causes of death in Switzerland
The most common causes of death in Switzerland is almost identical to that of the USA. We have published guidelines setting out how heart rate variability (HRV) can detect these ailments and how a healthier lifestyle can lead to a sginificant reduction on the risk associated with these conditions.

Who is to blame?
As the world slides into its next recession, there will be plenty of blame going around. At the top of the list will be the Covid-19 pandemic and Putin’s war in Ukraine. Both are an attempt at redirection.

How to interpret the reading graph
The reading graph appears while you are taking the reading on the app and is available in the recovery section on the HRV Health platform. What does it mean, and what should you look out for?

Training with HRV
Heart rate variability is a science that has been helping elite athletes achieve their best over the past couple of decades. How does it work, and how can it work for you?

Switzerland`s healthcare is now the world’s most expensive.
Switzerland’s healthcare is now the world’s most expensive. That should worry the people who have the responsibility to the citizens of this country, the FOPH, the politicians and the health insurers. It certainly worries us, the people who are paying for it.

Sleep tracking
I’ve always been able to sleep well, until I couldn’t. It happened while I was in Vietnam where I’d been living for a couple of years. Vietnam has the second highest road mortality rate in South-East Asia. In a space of six months, I’d seen five, which made my favourite pastime, cycling, a bit of a nightmare. Literally.

Switzerland's health insurance market
Twenty nine years ago, the Swiss health sector faced two key problems: rising inequality and rising costs. Those problems are back.

Resting Heart Rate and mortality
Men with a resting heart rate of over 75 beats per minute at 50 years of age have twice as high risk of all-cause death, cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease during 21 years of follow-up compared with men with RHR of 55 beats per minute or below.

Improving your numbers: the athlete's guide
Fitness technology can be incredibly powerful and deliver better results…or it can be a complete waste of time and money. The difference lies in understanding how to make it work for you. To get the most out of heart rate variability, follow these five simple and effective tips and watch your fitness transform from the inside out.

The science of breathing
Heart rate variability is integral to the science of breathing. As we breathe in, our heart rate accelerates. As we breathe out, it decelerates. That produces the variations in the interbeat interval that we call heart rate variability.

Using the new HRV Health Android app
The HRV Health apps are designed to collect your HRV and ECG data. The real value of the HRV Health system resides on the Platform, where you are able to view your results, interpretations and health trends, showing improvements, and the long term impact of events that have affected your health. The new HRV Health Android app retains the powerful simplicity of the previous version, while adding some attractive new features.

HRV Health usage by country
HRV Health is growing fast and now has active users in 47 countries. We are pleased with the diversity of the uptake. Some of the leading countries are unexpected:

HRV and COVID-19
Analysing the statistics for COVID-19 for England and Wales[1] produces some newsworthy findings. The data paints a different picture from what we were told.

How to take the HRV and ECG readings properly
Taking the HRV and ECG readings properly is simple once you know how. This is a guideline on how to achieve the most reliable results.

The HRV Health reading interpretatation
The HRV Health reading interpretation provides an in depth analysis of the reading. This feature is only available to lifetime members, subscribers, and new users during the trial period.

HRV Health migration
When tech support tells you it's your problem because you bought the cheapest product offering, and you have to prove that there really is a problem, it's time to get a new service provider. After trying some of the leading providers we've found one that understands the meaning of service.

Using HRV to reduce stress and improve training
The top athletes having been using HRV for the past couple of decades to improve their training to higher performance levels. Here's how they do it.

HRV and risk of severe COVID-19
A healthy immune system that is the product of a health lifestyle is better protection against severe COVID. We've proven this with our results. We explain how to use HRV to measure your improved chances of staying alive.

Lies, damn lies, and statistics
When the vaccine for COVID was released, we were told that it is socially irresponsible to be unvaccinated. Novak Djokovic was banned from competing in the Australain open for that reason. We prove that the vaccine neither prevents infection nor transmission. The vaccine is a life saver for those who needed it, but that is small proportion of the population. Economies were brought to a standstill as politicians competed with each other, proving Einstein's theory of human stupity, yet again.

The bullyboy tactic of Spamhaus
We all hate spam. We all believe that something should be done about it. And there is. Spamhaus is doing the job, but the way that they are doing it leaves a great deal to be desired.

The UN is past its sell by date
After Ban Ki-moon, the outgoing Secretary General of the United Nations announced that he was standing for Korea’s presidency, based on his performance at the UN, I wrote an article giving prospective voters an insight into the reality of that performance. Nothing to do with the article, but he stood down pretty soon afterwards.

How to use the HRV Health Platform
If you want to get the most out of the HRV Health Platform, you need to understand what the numbers are telling you, in the context of why you are measuring HRV. Some people use heart rate variability to improve sports performance, some use it to measure health, and some use it for both.

Expedient exaggerations
In marketing there’s not such thing as a lie, it’s an expedient exaggeration. Cary Grant in Afred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest The pharmaceutical industry have very effective marketing departments who have turned science into an expedient exaggeration.

Open letter to the World’s leaders
After seeing mistake after mistake by governments around the wrold in combating the COVID virus, we offered them our technology, free of charge. None of them took up the offer.

Using HRV Health Android version 2
The new HRV Health App for Android has been released to fix that the app stopped working with the release of Android version 1. The app is very much simplified.

Obesity is rising worldwide
Being overweight and especially obesity (severe overweight) are risk factors for non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer and musculoskeletal diseases. There is also an association with mental health and quality of life. The trend worldwide is worrying.

What is healthy?
Worldwide, healthcare costs $9.5 trillion annually. If it were a country, it would be the world’s third largest economy. And it is in trouble. Healthcare, in it`s current form contributes nothing to an economy, because it it reactive, dealing with health issues as they happen. With aging populations, healthcare costs are increasing at an unsustainable rate, and with a world in the initial phases of a recession, politicians are being forced to make uncomfortable decisions. This will not go well, and people in Britain are already finding out.

Switzerland's healthcare problem
Switzerland’s healthcare system is amongst the world’s best, when you need it, and the worst if you don’t need it or can’t afford it. Insurance premiums finance the health system. As with all insurance there is cross-subsidisation. But with Switzerland’s healthcare, it’s the poor subsidising the rich.

Switzerland's Covid cost
Covid cost the Swiss taxpayer SFr35 billion, making up 4.6% of Swiss GDP. That’s not taking into account the cost to individual taxpayers in lost earnings, and businesses through lost revenue.

Using the Android app for the first time
For first time users, the Android HRV Health app is a confusing array of buttons. This is an easy guide to using the app for the first time.

Registering on the HRV Health Platform
Very few people love filling in forms. We offer the reasons that we require the information, and why we are so strict that it is correct.

Obesity in Switzerland
Being overweight and especially obesity (severe overweight) are risk factors for non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer and musculoskeletal diseases. There is also an association with mental health and quality of life. The trend in Switzerland, with and exception, is improving.

Why Insurance wastes money
Insurance is big business. It makes huge amounts of money. And it wastes money. At $5.23 trillion, if it were a country, the insurance industry would be the world’s third largest economy.

Surviving cancer
Being diagnosed with cancer is a shock. You want to know your chances of survival and how to make that happen. The good news is that Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a powerful indicator of survival rates, and as a tool to measure the value of the steps that you are taking to beat the disease.

How much alcohol is good for you?
The answer is none. Yes, there is plenty of research saying the opposite, and I’ll cover how that came about. The latest research proves that our beliefs about alcohol were wrong.

Leading medic slams HRV
In a podcast with Rhonda Patrick, Dr Benjamin Levine, an exceptionally accomplished sports cardiologist, according to Patrick – says that you cannot use heart rate variability, in answer to her question about it’s use for training. He resorts to mendacity to make his point.

Letter to the Swiss Federal Parliament
Switzerland's Federal Office of Public Health's 2030 plan exrpesses concern over the rising cost of healthcare in this country. They seem unable to do anything about it, proven by unaffordable rise in the health insurance premiums. So I wrote to the members of Switzerland Federal Parliament. Some of them don't care.

The dependency ratio: it is changing governments
In his opening chapters to the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith explains in detail how the proportion of economically active people to those who are inactive is an important determinant in the wealth of a nation.

Using the new HRV Health iOS app
The new HRV Health iOS app retains the powerful simplicity of the previous version, while adding some attractive new features.

RMSSD by age and gender
Tables displaying RMSSD and HRV Score by age and gender

COVID-19 vaccination efficacy in Switzerland
Our lives were turned upside down by the policies that were introduced to deal with the COVID pandemic. Then, we were told that the vaccine was the solution. The data confirm that there is something wrong with what we have been told.

Australia bans the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine
We’re all familiar with how the Australian government prevented Novak Djokovic from competing in the 2022 Australian open, kicking him out of the country and banning him from re-entry because he refused to be vaccinated for Covid. Now, they have egg on their face. The Australian government have had to withdraw the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine because it’s killing people.

Corporate small print trickery
In 1994, I was tasked with calculating the solvency of the Lloyds Insurance Market. It’s a requirement of the act of that covers the Market, and usually it was just a formality. In that year it mattered. There was a very real concern that the Market was insolvent.

COVID-19 is here for the long term
In the long term, COVID-19 will have the same effect as smoking. Data coming out of Israel, Iceland and the United Kingdom confirm that the vaccine is not the panacea we were promised. People who have been vaccinated are being infected, and some of them are dying.

Getting the most out of HRV Health
Heart rate variability is a science. To get the most out of the HRV Health Platform requires a scientific approach.

Smallpox
The pandemic with the highest mortality rate in the era before the 18th century was smallpox. In England. 10% of deaths were due to the infection. It had been known in ancient China, India and Africa and may have reached Greece and Rome in classical times. It certainly affected the Crusaders, who brought it home to Europe in the 1100s, where it became endemic.

Generics - a simple way to reduce healthcare costs
Generic drugs are pharmaceutical clones of the branded drugs that they copy. The generics are a fraction of the price of their branded twins. Why do we waste money on the brands?

Stealing from the dying
A.L.S is a death sentence. Although they know that there is no chance that the trials that they volunteer for will save them, sufferers who sign up are determined that their efforts will save victims in the future. The anecdotes leave no doubt: they are heroes.

HRV and smoking
I am the guinea pig for many of the experiments that I’ve conducted with HRV. This one has been involuntary. My neighbour's tenant smokes immediately ouside the window to my apartment, and the secondary smoke is having a profound impact on my health. According to the police, this is a civil matter.

John Snow and Cholera
In August 1854, Soho in London was struck with a severe cholera outbreak. Thousands of residents in the Soho area of London fell ill as a consequence of this outbreak, and at least 600 people died.

Staying alive with HRV
It’s always been self-evident that increased exercise reverses the effects of ageing. So, besides telling us whether we are ill, with HRV we have a reliable metric that tells us each day whether we are making progress in our effort to beat time.

Are we being lied to again?
Switzerland's Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has recommended NO Covid vaccination for Spring /Summer 2023. The USA's CDC is advising the opposite. They can't both be right. We unpick the story.

Ten most common causes of death in the USA
This list is published in anticipation of our article covering the research that confirms how heart rate variability can be used to reduce mortality from the the most common causes of death in the USA.

The Great Hunger
In 1840, the population of Ireland was over 8 million. Today it is 5 million. Between 1841 and 1850 one million died during the Great Hunger and another million emigrated.

Modern medical myths
I have recently published a series of articles exposing how the arrogance of the medical fraternity caused deaths in the 19th century. Reading the articles, many people may think that today we have modern science making sure that this episodes are so much history. It’s not.

Our problem with the FOPH
Switzerland's FOPH has an excellent 2030 plan clearly setting out the challenges the organisation faces, and how they intend addressing them. It looks like it will be used, unaltered, for 2040 plan.

Is America broke
Anyone who has a mortgage understands the problem. If your mortgage repayments represents a significant proportion of your disposable income, you’re in deep trouble when interest rates rise. It’s the same for companies. And it’s the same for countries.

How medical arrogance kills
Prior to 1823, less than 1% of women died in childbirth at the Vienna Hospital. But after a policy change mandated that medical students and obstetricians perform autopsies, in addition to their other duties, the mortality rate for new mothers suddenly jumped to 7.5%.

The British genocide
Genocide: the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular nation or ethnic group. Oxford English Dictionary

Buying votes
How governments of countries with massive income inequality buy the votes of the poor with policies that undermine their countries' economies.

People with high HRV live longer
HRV declines with age. When looking at the statistics it appears that the rate of declines slows as we get older, and then reverses after 80. The reason for this pattern lies in the way that averages work.

Hunger strike
Healthcare insurance premiums in Switzerland are supposed to be subsidised for those who cannot afford them. My 2018 subsidies remain unpaid despite over two years of nagging. Now, I will start a hunger strike insisteing on payment for me, and all the others who have not been paid.

We're still not over the 2008 financial crises
A big proportion of wealth is a fiction.

The HRV Health subscription plan
HRV Health has introduced a subscription plan for our more advanced features. The basic heart rate variability services remain free for users. We set out the benefist of the subscription plan.

Why America lost the war in Afghanistan
I spent four years on and off in Afghanistan. It gave me some insights into why it ended so badly.

Surviving killer diseases with HRV
We recently published a list of the most common causes of death in the USA. The question is, can HRV help to reduce the mortality rate?.

Why you can't trust doctors any more
Doctors are supposed to be acting in our best interests. After all, they signed the Hippocatic oath. It appears that many of them have forgotten that.

Why HRV poses a threat to doctors
One of HRV Health’s users (Jill) went for a required routine medical check-up. On reviewing Jill’s x-ray, the doctor concluded that she had “a problem” with her lungs, and could not grant medical clearance. Jill was devastated. Jill exercises daily, and her HRV metrics reflect that. We told her to get a second opinion. The second opinion confirmed what we already knew. Her lungs are in excellent shape. The other doctor’s opinion was a complete misdiagnosis.

Artificial intelligence
Two things are infinite: The universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. Albert Einstein

Hungerstreik
Krankenversicherungsprämien in der Schweiz sollen für diejenigen subventioniert werden, die sich diese nicht leisten können. Meine Subventionen für 2018 bleiben trotz über zwei Jahren des Nörgelns unbezahlt. Jetzt werde ich einen Hungerstreik beginnen und auf Bezahlung für mich und alle anderen bestehen, die nicht bezahlt wurden.

Grève de la faim
Les primes d'assurance maladie en Suisse sont censées être subventionnées pour ceux qui n'en ont pas les moyens. Mes subventions de 2018 restent impayées malgré plus de deux ans de harceler. Maintenant, je vais commencer une grève de la faim en insistant sur le paiement pour moi et tous les autres qui n'ont pas été payés.

The great divide
When I was living in America, I often had the feeling that they were still fighting the civil war. After the war, Lincoln understood how divided the country had become, and determined that he needed to unite the country[1]. He had already started to implement his plans to reconcile the people, who were divided long before the civil war broke out. Then he was assassinated.

The great vaccinate debate
We are seeing history repeat itself. The Ebola epidemic in West Africa was mishandled[1]. The people of the affected countries opposed the restrictions that prevented transmission, because their governments had a record of lying to their people. Why should they be trusted? And we looked on and said, how could that happen? Now we’ve found out.

Warum wird uns nicht die Wahrheit gesagt?
Als der Impfstoff gegen COVID veröffentlicht wurde, wurde uns gesagt, dass es sozial unverantwortlich sei, nicht geimpft zu werden. Novak Djokovic wurde aus diesem Grund von der Teilnahme an den Australien Open ausgeschlossen. Wir beweisen, dass der Impfstoff weder eine Infektion noch eine Übertragung verhindert. Der Impfstoff ist ein Lebensretter für diejenigen, die ihn brauchten, aber das ist ein kleiner Teil der Bevölkerung. Die Wirtschaft wurde zum Erliegen gebracht, als Politiker miteinander konkurrierten, was Einsteins Theorie der menschlichen Dummheit wieder einmal bewies.

Mensonges et statistiques
Lorsque le vaccin contre le COVID est sorti, on nous a dit qu'il était socialement irresponsable de ne pas être vacciné. Novak Djokovic a été interdit de participer à l'Open d'Australie pour cette raison. Nous prouvons que le vaccin n'empêche ni l'infection ni la transmission. Le vaccin est une bouée de sauvetage pour ceux qui en avaient besoin, mais c'est une petite proportion de la population. Les économies ont été paralysées alors que les politiciens se faisaient concurrence, prouvant une fois de plus la théorie d'Einstein sur la stupidité humaine.

HRV Age
We have recently developed an algorithm that calculates the user’s HRV age from to their health metrics, making it easier for users to see how good their health really is.

Switzerlands healthcare problem
Switzerland’s healthcare system is amongst the world’s best, when you need it, and the worst if you don’t need it or can’t afford it. Insurance premiums finance the health system. As with all insurance there is cross-subsidisation. But with Switzerland’s healthcare, it’s the poor subsidising the rich.