{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]],"date-time":"2026-04-28T13:08:29Z","timestamp":1777381709749,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Support Palliat Care"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Heart rate variability (HRV) is the variation in the time interval between consecutive heartbeats, is variable for each individual and higher or lower HRV is not always better. Despite the importance of HRV to cancer care, HRV monitoring and analysis are not standard clinical practice. In this article, we present the clinical utility of widely known recommendations for improving HRV, highlight their benefits and outline how these can provide an efficient, non-invasive and cost-effective method for identifying autonomic dysfunction through HRV. Considered together, this article can inform policy on the importance of HRV measurements and evaluation as a standard of care in supportive care guidelines.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/spcare-2025-005684","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]],"date-time":"2026-02-27T18:20:25Z","timestamp":1772216425000},"page":"647-649","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["What heart rate variability can bring to supportive care"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2904-2752","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dori","family":"Beeler","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Supportive Oncology, Atrium Health Levine Cancer, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA"},{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine Hematology\/Oncology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0400-5218","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bernadette","family":"Brady","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Our Lady\u2019s Hospice and Care Services, Dublin, Ireland"},{"name":"St. James\u2019s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026042802201391000_16.3.647.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2017.00258","article-title":"An Overview of Heart Rate Variability Metrics and Norms","volume":"5","author":"Shaffer","year":"2017","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"2026042802201391000_16.3.647.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"737","DOI":"10.1016\/j.canep.2013.04.016","article-title":"Norms of vagal nerve activity, indexed by Heart Rate Variability, in cancer patients","volume":"37","author":"De Couck","year":"2013","journal-title":"Cancer Epidemiol"},{"key":"2026042802201391000_16.3.647.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1016\/j.canep.2015.11.007","article-title":"Vagal nerve activity predicts overall survival in metastatic pancreatic cancer, mediated by inflammation","volume":"40","author":"De Couck","year":"2016","journal-title":"Cancer Epidemiol"},{"key":"2026042802201391000_16.3.647.4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychores.2016.08.004","article-title":"Heart rate variability in the prediction of survival in patients with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"89","author":"Zhou","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Psychosom Res"},{"key":"2026042802201391000_16.3.647.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjspcare-2018-001588"},{"key":"2026042802201391000_16.3.647.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"36","DOI":"10.1080\/09638288.2018.1514664","article-title":"Impact of supportive therapy modalities on heart rate variability in cancer patients - 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