If you wear a fitness tracker, you’ve likely seen a stat labeled “HRV” pop up on your screen. But what does it mean, and does it matter? Short for heart rate variability, HRV has become a popular ...

Heart rate variability is the time variation between each heartbeat that can show how your body handles stress and recovery.

Here’s what this health metric really indicates, according to cardiologists. Fact checked by Isaac Winter Reviewed by Vivek Cherian, MD Heart rate variability (HRV) is the difference in the timing ...