... the optical heart rate monitors varied in accuracy ... of intensity , from 2 to 6 miles per hour ( mph ), with rests between each exercise .
Health Technology needed to determine which devices are more reliable for use in clinical care .”
An adult ’ s average resting heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute ; maximum heart rate is about 220 bpm minus the person ’ s age , according to the American Heart Association .
An electrocardiogram records the heart ’ s electrical activity . It ’ s the “ gold standard ” for measuring heart rate , Gillinov said . A chest strap , which also monitors electrical activity , is just as accurate , he added .
Wrist-worn heart monitors use optical sensing technology to detect heart rate . They emit LED light to measure blood flow in and out of tissue , and a sensor picks up that data and converts it into heart rate readings using proprietary algorithms , Gillinov explained .
In the study , published online Oct . 12 in the journal JAMA Cardiology , the Cleveland Clinic team recruited 50 healthy men and women , with an average age of 37 . Participants wore a Polar H7 chest-strap monitor and were randomly assigned to wear two different wrist-worn monitors during 3-minute intervals of exercise on a treadmill .
Heart rate readings were recorded when participants were at rest and at the 3-minute mark of each exercise . Participants exercised at increasing levels
... the optical heart rate monitors varied in accuracy ... of intensity , from 2 to 6 miles per hour ( mph ), with rests between each exercise .
The researchers also measured people ’ s heart rates at three points during their recovery .
Compared with electrocardiogram , the optical heart rate monitors varied in accuracy , the investigators found .
At 2 and 3 mph , median differences of roughly 9 and 7 bpm , respectively , were recorded between the Basis Peak .
With Fitbit , researchers recorded median differences of approximately 7 and 6 bpm at 4 and 6 mph , respectively .
“ We ’ re not being nitpicky because as people moved , we had readings that could be off by 30 and 40 bpm , so it ’ s not a small difference ,” Gillinov said . His advice ? “ If you ’ re an elite athlete and you ’ re using your heart rate to guide training , or you ’ re a cardiac patient who ’ s been given specific heart rate targets or ranges , use a chest strap ,” he advised .
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