Esport: Fortnite Acutely Increases Heart Rate of Young Men

Esports has rapidly increased in online play and viewing. A myriad of literature focuses on heart rate (HR) during traditional athletic competition, little research has addressed the HR responses of individuals playing esports and none in the esport: Fortnite. The purpose of this study was to compare the HR response during a 3-hour seated session of the esport: Fortnite to resting HR. Male college students (n = 23; age = 21 ± 1.8 years; BMI = 25.7 ± 3.9; Esport mean hours per week = 13 ± 8.7) were recruited to participate in the study. Mean and peak resting HR were collected during two HR measurements in a controlled laboratory setting. Additionally, participants wore the HR monitor to record mean and peak HR during their regular 3-hour esport: Fortnite session at home. Participants were also instructed to record their match statistics from each solo round. Separate paired sample t-tests were conducted to compare mean resting heart rate (rHR) vs. mean seated esport heart rate (eHR) and peak rHR vs. peak eHR. Pearson's r correlations were used to investigate relationships between variables. There was a statistically significant increase in mean eHR compared to mean rHR (76 ± 10 bpm vs. 70 ± 11 bpm; p < 0.05) and peak eHR compared to peak rHR (120 ± 16 bpm vs. 81 ± 11 bpm; p < 0.05). The average number of kills was 29 ± 18.6. This initial study suggests esport: Fortnite increases individuals seated HR, suggesting a physiological stressful event.