Validity of the ithlete smart phone application for determining ultra-short-term heart rate variability

The purpose of this investigation was to cross-validate the ithleteTM heart rate variability smart phone application with an electrocardiograph for determining ultra-short-term root mean square of successive R-R intervals. The root mean square of successive R-R intervals was simultaneously determined via electrocardiograph and ithleteTM at rest in twenty five healthy participants. There were no significant differences between the electrocardiograph and ithleteTM derived root mean square of successive R-R interval values (p > 0.05) and the correlation was near perfect (r = 0.99, p < 0.001). In addition, the ithleteTM revealed a Standard Error of the Estimate of 1.47 and Bland Altman plot showed that the limits of agreement ranged from 2.57 below to 2.63 above the constant error of -0.03. In conclusion, the ithleteTM appeared to provide a suitably accurate measure of root mean square of successive R-R intervals when compared to the electrocardiograph measures obtained in the laboratory within the current sample of healthy adult participants. The current study lays groundwork for future research determining the efficacy of ithleteTM for reflecting athletic training status over a chronic conditioning period.