Episode 15 – This Week in Heart Rate Variability Welcome to this week's exploration of the latest HRV science. In Episode 15, we discuss nine newly published studies that expand our understanding of HRV in mental health, physiology, chronic illness, and digital health innovation. This episode highlights remote biofeedback, pediatric heart dynamics, pregnancy and thyroid status, elite performance, cardiac rehabilitation, personalized training prediction, global research trends, autoimmune flare detection, and neurostimulation safety. Featured Studies: Remote HRV Biofeedback and Mental Health “Efficacy and Methodology of Remote Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Interventions for Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” Vann-Adibe et al., Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (2025) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10484-025-09750-w Pediatric HRV and Cardiac Complexity “Age-dependent patterns of cardiac complexity unveiled by topological data analysis of pediatric heart rate variability” Domínguez-Monterroza et al., PLOS ONE (2025) https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0337620 Subclinical Hypothyroidism in Pregnancy and HRV “Comparative Evaluation of Thyroid Profiles and Heart Rate Variability in Newly Diagnosed Subclinical Hypothyroid and Euthyroid Pregnant Women” Singh et al., Cureus (2025) https://www.cureus.com/articles/427419-comparative-evaluation-of-thyroid-profiles-and-heart-rate-variability-in-newly-diagnosed-subclinical-hypothyroid-and-euthyroid-pregnant-women?score_article=true#!/ Performance Optimization in Firefighters “Mental imagery and breathing exercises integrated into a standardized warm-up routine enhance sympathetic activation and optimize muscular performance in firefighters” Biéchy et al., PLOS ONE (2025) https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0337431 Innovative Respiratory-Synchronized Pacemaker University of Auckland research feature: “Pacemaker could help the heart heal” Paton, Ben-Tal, Nogaret, and Stiles https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2025/12/02/pacemaker-could-help-heart-heal.html HRV and Personalized Fitness Modeling “Advancing training effectiveness prediction in mass sport through longitudinal data: A mathematical model approach based on the Fitness-Fatigue Model” Wang et al., PLOS ONE (2025) https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0337824 Global Trends in HRV Research “A Two-Decade Bibliometric Analysis of Heart Rate Variability Research (2005–2024)” Sharma et al., Psychiatry Research (2025)