Heart rate variability code: Does it exist and can we hack it?

TL;DR

This paper introduces the concept of HRV code to understand the physiological meaning of heart rate variability's mathematical properties, reviewing evidence and proposing experiments for validation.

Contribution

It presents the novel concept of HRV code, aiming to systematically interpret HRV's physiological significance and suggesting experimental validation.

Findings

Support from physiological studies across species

Proposal of experiments for validation

Introduction of HRV code as a new interpretative framework

Abstract

Heart rate variability (HRV) has been studied for over 50 years, yet an integrative concept is missing on what HRV's mathematical properties represent physiologically. Here I introduce the notion of HRV code as an attempt to address this challenge systematically. I review the existing evidence from physiological studies in various species to support this concept and propose experiments to help validate and expand this notion further.