Highlights
- Mean heart rate decreased by 22%.
- SDNN, a heart rate variability measure, increased by 147%.
- Right-side Flow Gain increased by 57%.
- Self-reported total wellness increased by 48%.
A 66-year-old participant in an exploratory assisted living facility study completed one 20-minute AVACEN session. Before and immediately after the session, researchers assessed heart rate, heart rate variability, peripheral circulation, and self-reported wellness.
A slower heart rate and greater variation between beats
After the session, the participant’s mean heart rate decreased from 105.7 to 82.6 beats per minute—a 22% reduction.
Researchers also measured heart rate variability, or HRV. HRV refers to the natural differences in time between consecutive heartbeats. These small variations provide information about how the autonomic nervous system—the system that automatically regulates the heart and many other body functions—is adapting from moment to moment.
Several HRV measures increased after the session. SDNN increased by 147%, RMSSD by 89%, and Total Power by 36%.
Taken together with the lower heart rate, these findings suggest an acute change in autonomic regulation of the heart. Because this was an immediate before-and-after measurement in one individual, it does not establish a long-term cardiovascular effect.
Changes in peripheral circulation
The researchers also examined blood flow-related measurements in both sides of the body.
The left-side Bilateral Flow Gain remained relatively stable, increasing by only 1%, while the right side increased by 57%. After the session, the values on the two sides were closer together than they had been beforehand.
Perfusion Index—a measure related to the blood reaching peripheral tissue—increased by 9%, while another vascular-related measurement, pulse transit time, increased by 33%.
The participant also reported feeling better
The total self-reported wellness score increased from 29 to 43, a 48% improvement immediately after the session.
This single case cannot tell us how another person will respond, but it illustrates how AVACEN research can examine both objective physiological measurements and the participant’s own perception of wellness during the same session.
