The use of wrist worn wearable fitness trackers has been growing rapidly over the last decade. The growing popularity can be partly attributed to the improvements in technology, making activity trackers more affordable, comfortable and convenient for use in different fitness and environmental applications. Fitness trackers typically monitor activity level, track steps, distance, heart rate (HR), sleep, peripheral capillary oxygen saturation and more, as the technology continuously is advancing. In terms of measuring HR, photoplethysmography (PPG) is a relatively new technology utilised in wearables. PPG estimates HR through an optical technique that monitors changes in blood volume beneath the skin. With these new products becoming available it is important that the validity of these devices be evaluated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the validity of the Polar Vantage M (PVM) watch to measure HR compared to medical grade ECG on a healthy population during a range of treadmill exercise intensities.

A total of 30 healthy participants (n = 17 males, n = 13 females) were recruited for this study. The validity of the PVM watch to measure HR was compared against the gold standard 5-lead ECG. The study was conducted on 2 separate testing days with 24–48 h between sessions. Participants completed the Bruce Treadmill Protocol, and HR was measured every 30 s. Validation of the PVM watch in comparison to the ECG was measured with an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI) and levels of agreement were identified with Bland–Altman plots with 90% limits of agreement. Linear regression analysis was performed to calculate the value of r2 computing the variation of HR obtained by the PVM watch and ECG.

Results

In total, 30 participants completed the protocol, with data from 28 participants utilised for statistical analysis (16 males, 14 females, 26.10 ± 3.39 years, height 52.36 m ± 7.40 cm, mass 73.59 ± 11.90 kg). A strong and significant correlation was found between the PVM watch and ECG, demonstrating good criterion validity (p < 0.05, r2 = 0.87). Good validity was seen for day 1 and day 2 for stage 0 (ICC = 0.83; 95% CI [0.63–0.92], ICC = 0.74; 95% CI [0.37–0.88]), stage 1 (ICC = 0.78; 95% CI [0.52–0.90], ICC = 0.88; 95% CI [0.74–0.95]), and stage 2 (ICC = 0.88; 95% CI [0.73–0.94], ICC = 0.80; 95% CI [0.40–0.92]). Poor validity was demonstrated on day 1 and day 2 for stages 3–5 (ICC < 0.50).

This study revealed that the PVM watch had a strong correlation with the ECG throughout the entire Bruce Protocol, however the level of agreement (LoA) becomes widely dispersed as exercise intensities increased. Due to the large LoA between the ECG and PVM watch, it is not advisable to use this device in clinical populations in which accurate HR measures are essential for patient safety; however, the watch maybe used in settings where less accurate HR is not critical to an individual’s safety while exercising.