Przemyslaw Guzik, MD, PhD

Cardiologist and professor at Poznan University of Medical Sciences
Consultant in cardiology at the University Clinical Hospital in Poznan, Poland

Talk title: “Heart Rate Variability: promise vs. reality"

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) has been widely used in research and clinical practice, but misconceptions, overstatements, and unverified methodologies sometimes cloud its interpretation. In this lecture, I will clarify the fundamental differences between HRV (derived from ECG RR intervals) and Pulse Rate Variability (PRV, derived from photoplethysmography), explaining why they are not interchangeable.

I will challenge the widespread but likely flawed assumption that HRV is a direct measure of autonomic control and highlight the risks of using terms like "sympathetic-parasympathetic balance" or "vagal tone" without robust scientific validation. Additionally, I will discuss the increasing use of mobile apps and consumer devices that rely on unvalidated algorithms and pulse rate measurements, leading to misleading conclusions.

This lecture will also revisit the clinical significance of HRV. While long-term HRV (e.g., 24-hour recordings) has predictive value in cardiovascular risk stratification, its use as a real-time marker of autonomic function remains highly uncertain. I will emphasize the need for new epidemiological HRV studies, considering modern lifestyle changes, rising metabolic diseases, and improvements in ECG-based data collection.

By the end of this talk, the audience will gain a more critical, evidence-based perspective on HRV, understanding its applications, limitations, and the necessity of rigorous methodologies in future research.

About the speaker

Przemyslaw Guzik, MD, PhD, is a cardiologist and professor at Poznan University of Medical Sciences and a consultant in cardiology at the University Clinical Hospital in Poznan, Poland. With over 30 years of clinical and research experience, his expertise spans electrocardiography, echocardiography, coronary artery disease, hypertension, heart failure, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. He combines clinical practice with a commitment to scientific innovation and the education of future generations of cardiologists and clinical researchers.

Dr Guzik is strongly interested in heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV), contributing extensively to these fields through numerous publications. He has co-authored three clinical recommendations on heart rate turbulence, long-term ECG monitoring, and blood pressure variability.

With a physicist, Professor Jaroslaw Piskorski, PhD, from the University of Zielona Gora, Poland, they discovered two physiological phenomena of heart rate asymmetry and blood pressure asymmetry, pioneering novel computational methods to quantify them in cardiovascular time series. They developed HRAexplorer.com, an online tool for HRV and BPV analysis, including heart rate and blood pressure asymmetry.

He is also the main co-author and co-principal investigator of the Twins.pl project, a prospective epidemiological study on metabolic syndrome in twins. Professor Claire Steves, Head of the Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, has become a member of the Scientific Committee of the Twins.pl project.

A dedicated educator, he has supervised 12 PhD theses and continues mentoring Polish and international researchers. He is also an active reviewer for several international clinical journals. His recent research extends into mobile health technologies and sports cardiology, further advancing cardiovascular science and patient care.