Validation of a Wrist-Worn Optical Heart Rate Monitor During Maximal Treadmill Exercise Testing.

Validation of a Wrist-Worn Optical Heart Rate Monitor During Maximal Treadmill Exercise Testing. JEPonline 2024;27(5): 50-56. Heart rate (HR) watches using photoplethysmography (PPG) are a popular, portable, and practical alternative to electrocardiogram (ECG) for HR monitoring. The purpose of this study was to determine validity for a PPM watch for measuring HR during incremental treadmill exercise using ECG as the criterion. Twenty-two subjects (13 men, 9 women; 35.8 ± 6.3 yr) performed a Bruce treadmill protocol exercise test. HR was recorded at rest and each minute with the Mio Alpha PPM and ECG simultaneously. HR was compared between methods using paired-samples t-tests. Validity coefficients were determined using Pearson correlations. HR had a significant correlation between methods overall (r = 0.97). Significant correlations were observed for rest and each stage (r values from 0.67 to 0.96). HR was significantly different between methods for rest (ECG = 66 ± 13 b·min^-1, Mio = 68 ± 16 b·min^-1), stage 3 (ECG = 144 ± 13 b·min^-1, Mio = 143 ± 13 b·min^-1), stage 4 (ECG = 168 ± 13 b·min^-1, Mio = 164 ± 14 b·min^-1), and stage 5 (ECG = 178 ± 12 b·min^-1, Mio = 173 ± 18 b·min^-1). There was a strong agreement between the HR methods and mean differences did not exceed 3 b·min^-1 except for stage 5. Therefore, a PPM watch may provide accurate HR monitoring at most exercise intensities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]