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Topic · Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control

Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control is a research topic within Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine. Science Explorer counts 70k research works in it since 1950. 9.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the analysis, applications, and implications of heart rate variability (HRV) in understanding autonomic nervous system function, physiological time series analysis using entropy methods, neurovisceral integration, its role as a marker of stress and health, and its associations with cardiovascular disease, emotion regulation, and baroreflex sensitivity. The cluster also covers the impact of HRV on various health conditions such as diabetes, depression, anxiety disorders, and mortality prediction.

  • Heart Rate Variability
  • Autonomic Nervous System
  • Physiological Time Series
  • Entropy Analysis
  • Neurovisceral Integration
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Emotion Regulation
  • Stress Marker
  • Baroreflex Sensitivity
  • Vagal Tone
Research works
70k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
6.9k
per year above
Top-10% rate
9.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+10%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
31% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control

This ranks research output and citation impact. It says nothing about the quality of diagnosis, treatment or care.

Which countries lead Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control research?

By volume, the United States and China publish the most (2.7k and 1.6k works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 2.7k works
  2. 2 China 1.6k works
  3. 3 India 912 works
  4. 4 Japan 607 works
  5. 5 Russia 510 works
  6. 6 Italy 491 works
  7. 7 United Kingdom 459 works
  8. 8 Brazil 442 works
  9. 9 Germany 431 works
  10. 10 Canada 411 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 31.4%China: 18.8%India: 10.7%Japan: 7.1%6 others listed: 32.0%31%largest
United States2,687 · 31.4%China1,613 · 18.8%India912 · 10.7%Japan607 · 7.1%6 others listed2,743 · 32.0%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control research?

By volume in 2022-now, Russian Academy of Sciences publishes the most Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control research, followed by Harvard University and Mayo Clinic.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Russian Academy of SciencesRussia 120 works
  2. 2 Harvard UniversityUnited States 96 works
  3. 3 Mayo ClinicUnited States 51 works
  4. 4 Universidade de São PauloBrazil 50 works
  5. 5 All India Institute of Medical SciencesIndia 44 works
  6. 6 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 42 works
  7. 7 University of TorontoCanada 40 works
  8. 8 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 35 works
  9. 9 Pennsylvania State UniversityUnited States 34 works
  10. 10 Emory UniversityUnited States 34 works

Who are the leading researchers in Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control include George Davey Smith, Ronald C. Kessler and Jost Bruno Jonas.

  1. 1 George Davey Smith United Kingdom 435k citations
  2. 2 Ronald C. Kessler United States 360k citations
  3. 3 Jost Bruno Jonas Germany 350k citations
  4. 4 John J.V. McMurray United Kingdom 349k citations
  5. 5 Hermann Brenner Germany 343k citations
  6. 6 Emelia J. Benjamin United States 341k citations
  7. 7 Jun Wang China 340k citations
  8. 8 Stephan Windecker Switzerland 338k citations
  9. 9 Giuseppe Remuzzi Italy 328k citations
  10. 10 Mika Kivimäki United Kingdom 318k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control?

The most cited paper in Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control is "Heart rate variability: Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use" (Marek Malik, J. Thomas Bigger, A. John Camm et al., 1996), with 15,375 citations. Next come "Physiological time-series analysis using approximate entropy and sample entropy" (7,969) and "An Overview of Heart Rate Variability Metrics and Norms" (7,235).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Heart rate variability: Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use Marek Malik, J. Thomas Bigger, A. John Camm et al. · European Heart Journal Open access Mar 1996 15,375
2 Physiological time-series analysis using approximate entropy and sample entropy Joshua Richman, Joseph Randall Moorman · American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology Jun 2000 7,969
3 An Overview of Heart Rate Variability Metrics and Norms Fred Shaffer, Jay P. Ginsberg · Frontiers in Public Health Open access 28 Sep 2017 7,235
4 Power Spectrum Analysis of Heart Rate Fluctuation: A Quantitative Probe of Beat-to-Beat Cardiovascular Control S. Akselrod, David Gordon, F. Andrew Ubel et al. · Science 10 Jul 1981 5,110
5 Endothelium-derived relaxing factor produced and released from artery and vein is nitric oxide. L J Ignarro, Georgette M. Buga, Keith S. Wood et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open access Dec 1987 5,093
All 97 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control research done?

The largest centres of Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Moscow (Russia), Tokyo (Japan) and Seoul (South Korea).

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 290 works
  2. 2 MoscowRussia 195 works
  3. 3 TokyoJapan 166 works
  4. 4 SeoulSouth Korea 147 works
  5. 5 LondonUnited Kingdom 137 works
  6. 6 ShanghaiChina 127 works
  7. 7 São PauloBrazil 121 works
  8. 8 MilanItaly 102 works
  9. 9 BostonUnited States 95 works
  10. 10 New YorkUnited States 90 works
See Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control on the map

Where is the best place to study Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control?

Among universities, judged by research, Harvard University, Beijing Sport University and Karolinska Institutet score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%30%mean 18.53%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →ETH ZurichBeijing Sport Univer…Karolinska InstitutetHarvard University
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Harvard UniversityUnited States 80.118.4%2.7×96 +9.9%
2Beijing Sport UniversityChina 70.323.5%31.2×23 +360.0%
3Karolinska InstitutetSweden 62.218.9%3.4×22 +42.6%
4ETH ZurichSwitzerland 60.125.8%1.4×11 +68.2%
5University of ZurichSwitzerland 59.317.9%2.6×20 +24.7%
6Northwestern UniversityUnited States 58.219.4%1.7×16 +13.9%
7Emory UniversityUnited States 57.512.4%3.8×34 +33.6%
8University of California, IrvineUnited States 57.417.5%3.6×25 +60.6%
9University of BaselSwitzerland 55.115.1%3.8×16 +24.9%
10University College LondonUnited Kingdom 55.016.4%1.4×26 -6.0%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control, country by country

Is Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 10% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.055% in 2024.

still counting0.050%0.10%Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control0.053% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control10.1% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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