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Smartphone-Enabled Heart Rate Variability and Acute Mountain Sickness.

Adrian Mellor^1,2,3, Josh Bakker-Dyos¹, John OʼHara³

¹Defence Medical Services, Lichfield, United Kingdom.

Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine : Official Journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine

|April 14, 2017

Summary

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A smartphone-derived heart rate variability (HRV) score can help identify severe acute mountain sickness (AMS) at high altitude. However, a baseline HRV score does not predict future AMS development.

Area of Science:

Physiology
Altitude Medicine
Cardiovascular Health

Background:

Autonomic system and sympathetic activation are implicated in acute mountain sickness (AMS) pathogenesis at high altitude (HA).
A definitive link between heart rate variability (HRV) and AMS has been lacking.
This study explored the utility of a smartphone-derived HRV score for predicting and diagnosing AMS.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the predictive and diagnostic capabilities of a smartphone-derived heart rate variability (HRV) score for acute mountain sickness (AMS) at high altitude (HA).

Main Methods:

Twenty-one healthy adults trekked from 1400 m to 5140 m over 10 days.
Heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded using the ithlete HRV device.
Data were analyzed for correlation with AMS incidence and severity.

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Main Results:

AMS affected 52.4% of subjects above 2650 m.
HRV inversely correlated with AMS scores (r = -0.26, P < 0.001) and significantly decreased at higher altitudes.
Lower HRV scores were observed in subjects with mild and severe AMS compared to those without.
The change in HRV score from baseline moderately predicted severe AMS (AUC 0.80, P = 0.0004).

Conclusions:

The ithlete HRV score aids in identifying severe AMS at high altitude.
A baseline HRV score is not predictive of future AMS development.
HRV monitoring shows potential for AMS management in HA environments.