Finger pulse monitoring is a reliable and valid tool for measuring heart rate during exercise among adolescents in lab and school settings
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: A finger pulse monitor (FPM) offers multiple advantages for monitoring heart rate during exercise in comparison to chest worn monitors, including: enhanced testing efficiency; less invasive, particularly for vulnerable populations (e.g. children); and, reduced cost. The purpose of this study was to establish the test-retest reliability of an FPM device for monitoring heart rate during a 3-minute step test (3MST 30 ) to estimate cardiorespiratory fitness in a lab and school setting, and to compare indices of reliability with a chest worn heart rate monitor. Participants ( N = 29; male = 16, female = 13; age: 15.8 ± 0.7) completed the 3MST 30 on two occasions, in a lab setting (T1) and in a school setting (T2), one week apart. Participants wore a Braun ® FPM and a Polar ® H7 chest strap heart rate monitor. Heart rate in beats per minute (bpm) was recorded on both devices at 1-minute, 2-minutes, 3-minutes, and one minute following test completion. Equivalence testing was used to analyse the data for differences between the two devices by using the TOSTER R package. Absolute mean differences between devices and settings were clinically insignificant, with the smallest variance at the 1-minute post recording (FPM p = .012; chest strap = 0.041). There were no statistically significant differences in heart rate measurement between settings. This study demonstrates that finger pulse monitoring is a reliable and valid tool for measuring heart rate during sub-maximal exercise in lab and school settings.
Authors: Brendan T. O’Keeffe, Úna Britton, Kwok Ng
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,890
Funder: University of Limerick
OpenAlex ID: W4417086652