I had a cardiac arrest at home in February and another one shortly after arriving at hospital. I was induced into a coma and had an angiogram and then a stent fitted, and was in ICU for four days. My LFEV was measured at 30-35%. That's the short story, and I'm very lucky to stillbe here and to be able to tell the tale.
Previously I had no problems, didn't smoke or drink and was reasonably fit, doing regular running. I have a Garmin watch and prior to the event it would my HRV would measure around 50-60ms. Post cardiac event it was 30-35ms and more recently 35-42ms.
I have been doing lots of exercise over the last few months, mostly walking, then the exercise bike, and I also did cardio rehab. In the last couple of weeks I started doing walk/jog on the treadmill (repetitions of 5 min walk and then 3 min light jog). I'm not pushing myself hard, but this has got my heart pumping more and it feels ok. I noticed that since I started the walk/jog exercise, my HRV readings have jumped up to 47-52.
I may be overanalysing things, but this feels like a good indication - I know that a higher HRV is good, but I don't really understand the link between HRV and heart conditions.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
Written by
baltibob
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Hi, I came to these forums due to a heart attack (nstemi type II) and a subsequent atrial fibrillation diagnosis (the suspected root cause of the former) - 5+ years ago.
HRV has gained more attention in recent times due to the proliferation of devices that can measure it. I have a Polar Vantage 3 and H10 which can capture a lot of data including HRV.
I think HRV is difficult to interpret. It decreases as you age, and it’s very personalised; variability that’s normal in one person may not be normal for someone else. I haven’t seen any direct comparisons between it and heart conditions. I think it’s more a holistic indicator of your overall health. Heart rhythms are complex and you need professional healthcare people to correctly interpret them.
I keep an interest in articles about HRV but it’s not drawing my attention. I still keep very active, with weekly running and cycling sessions. I monitor and measure my performance but that concentrates on time, distance, HR zones and most importantly, how I am feeling.
Just the same view as yourself, a higher HRV seems to indicate better health. I do notice if I have a couple of drinks and I do mean just a couple then my HRV overnight drops a huge amount.
I can also tell if I have overtrained as it drops but not anywhere near as drastically as alcohol causes. A couple of rest days and all back to normal. I use a Garmin watch as well.
It’s amazing the effect alcohol has on my readings too, body battery always takes a bashing after a couple of pints particularly in the evening at a social . I dint mind driving to socials these days 🤣
Hi, similar to your 'elevated HRV' experience, my HRV value (Garmin based) today is elevated to just above my 'Baseline' zone (i.e. 'Unbalanced'), ... have recently done a few walk / short jog intervals with no problems and feel my fitness is improving.
But, because it is above the 'Baseline' zone / 'Unbalanced' (only by 1), the Garmin App is advising (nagging) me to 'take more time to recovery and to rest', which is about right as I am more tired than usual and may need temper my enthusiasm to get out there.
As per your observation, I think it is a good sign, though stepping up exercise intensity too quickly might not be so good for overall recovery. Probably don't need my watch to tell me this, but a helpful reality check, even if nagging 🙂
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High Heart Rate 
High heart rate from just walking 
'Maximum' Heart Rate
Heart working at 40%
Maximum heart rate when exercising 
