What is HRV and how does it affect well-being?
HRV refers to the beat-to-beat variability of the heart, and provides incredible insight into autonomic nervous system function. Though it may seem counterintuitive, a higher HRV is actually a good thing: it means that there is a greater variability in the time between heart beats so this organ is better able to respond to stress, sickness or physical activity. pulse-wave-profiler-dataThe more adaptable a patient’s heart, the less damage any stress-related spikes will be for overall health and well-being. With the neuroPULSE, chiropractors can establish a baseline HRV for each patient. This provides a concrete starting point to track a patient’s progress as they work toward wellness.

What data is collected from a PWP scan?
During a scan, the neuroPULSE collects data on the Instantaneous Heart Rate (IHR) throughout the unattended, 5 minute scanning period. This information is used to determine the variability in heart rate, and is presented in an easy-to-interpret graph. Any unexpected variances in nervous system stimulation are measured as Skin Conductance Response values.

Once this data is collected, the INSiGHT software calculates the HRV measurements to assess the state of the autonomous nervous system (ANS). This screen compares the two branches of the ANS: parasympathetic versus sympathetic responses. The neuroPULSE can reveal if these branches are balanced (as they should be), or if one component is stronger.