Is Heart Rate Variability the best biomarker of the time to track our longevity? In this episode we look at why HRV may be the best way to track how well you are aging and the bets being placed on it in Silicon Valley to drive innovation in anti-aging and longevity research.

Previously we’ve looked at using HRV for training and recovery, stress management, and tracking hormesis. If you are new to biohacking, HRV is an easy economical way to start tracking. All one needs is a heart rate strap and phone app.

The activity around HRV in Silicon Valley originates from The Palo Alto Longevity Prize – a one million dollar life science competition to “hack the code” that regulates our health and lifespan. The prize is using HRV as a proxy measurement for longevity, so teams will compete against each other to find tools and tactics to increase the HRV metric – and thereby potential longevity.

“Whenever you want to nurture innovation, you need to have metrics… The reason HRV was chosen was… one, we have decades worth of heart rate variability data…. there is good cohort data, population level data, that suggests that declining HRV is also due to a chronologic age…. [and] unlike most biomarkers in health, HRV can be measured continuously, contextually. You can measure it for 24 hours.”

– Dr. Joon Yun

Today’s interview is with the man behind the Palo Alto Longevity Prize, Dr. Joon Yun. Dr. Yun is managing partner and president of Palo Alto Investors,LLC, which oversees 1.8 billion dollars in assets invested in healthcare. Dr. Joon Yun is board certified in Radiology, was clinically trained at Stanford and received his M. D. from Duke Medical School. He has published numerous scientific articles, and has a column in Forbes magazine. Recently, he agreed to sponsor the Palo Alto Longevity Prize by donating 1 million dollars to this life-science competition.

The show notes, biomarkers, and links to the apps, devices and labs and everything else mentioned are below. Enjoy the show and let me know what you think in the comments!

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Show Notes

  • By the mid 40’s there are both subjective (able to be felt) examples and objective (not felt) examples of homeostatic capacity loss. (3:46).
  • Prior to middle life, the body’s homeostatic capacity is able to return to baseline (5:00).
  • Aging can be thought of as a decline in the body’s ability to get back to homeostasis due to an erosion of homeostatic capacity (5:27).
  • The healthcare system is centered on returning homeostasis and not homeostatic capacity (5:41).
  • The goal of the Palo Alto Prize is target and nurture ways to improve and restore homeostatic capacity, instead of restoring homeostasis (6:10).
  • There is some overlap in hormesis and homeostatic capacity (9:20).
  • Challenges to the body can increase homeostatic capacity (9:53).
  • The final perimeters of the Palo Alto Prize were announced at the end of 2014 (10:29).
  • Millions of people succumb to aging or aging-related issues. Thus, the sooner we start, the more people can benefit (11:19).
  • This is the first prize Dr. Joon Yun has sponsored (12:09).
  • Despite the innumerable traits of homeostatic capacity happening on the physiological level, there are existing biomarkers that represent proxies of homeostatic capacity (12:51).
  • Practical reason for why HRV was chosen as a biomarker include: (1) ability to be measured continuously (this is a unique feature compared to other health biomarkers); (2) ability to be measured contextually; and (3) ability to be measured non-invasively. Globally, there are numerous devices available to help measure HRV, thus providing an opportunity for a range of teams to apply for the prize (15:34).
  • Orthostatic hypotension was another biomarker considered (16:50).
  • Too rapid heart rate response or insufficient heart rate response during cardiac stress testing may indicate dysfunction in certain areas (18:05).
  • The data from orthostatic hypotension, cardiac stress testing, and heart rate decline after exercise are strong relative to other areas of homeostatic capacity assessment (19:05).
  • The goal of the project is to gather more data and develop more biomarkers of homeostatic capacity (19:14).
  • The definition (or standard) of HRV to be used in awarding the Palo Alto Prize will be determined by a team of experts (19:45).
  • Dr. Joon Yun does not track biomarkers on a routine basis (20:51).
  • Dr. Joon Yun’s single most important recommendation is exercise to improve your health, longevity and performance (23:37).

Thank Dr. Joon Yun on Twitter for this interview.
Click Here to let him know you enjoyed the show!

Dr. Joon Yun

The Tracking

Biomarkers

  • Heart Rate Variability (HRV): measurement of how one’s heart rate varies over time. Dr. Joon Yun describes HRV as a proxy for autonomic capacity, which itself is a surrogate of overall homeostatic capacity. Additionally, HRV can be taken continuously and non-invasively. Please check out other episodes for details on how to track HRV and optimum ranges.
  • Orthostatic Hypotension: measures the ability of the body to recalibrate blood pressure when moving from a lying to sitting position or a sitting to standing position. In aging, it has been associatively observed that the body’s ability to adapt to rapid changes in blood pressure deteriorates. Therefore, this is one way to infer homeostatic capacity and is another biomarker considered for the prize.
  • Heart Rate Recovery: measures autonomic capacity by looking at heart rate behavior after exercise. Looking at this decline over a certain time period gives insight into the function of the heart when compared with a normal curve.
  • RMSSD (Root Mean Square of the Successive Differences): the industry standard for measuring and calculating HRV. Discussed in more details in Episode 1 & Episode 6.
  • lnRMSSDx20 (RMSSD with natural log and multiple of 20 applied): applications have begun using this measure. This is RMSSD scaled to an index of 100 for easier use. Discussed in more details in Episode 1 & Episode 6.

Terms

  • Homeostatic capacity: a network of traits in our bodies to achieve homeostasis. It is the body’s ability to “self-tune” or, in response to stressors, its capability to self-stabilize. This capacity or trait is inborn: when we are young, the feeling of health feels like “nothing”. Once it begins to decline in midlife, we become aware of it. For instance, we notice an inability to tolerate hot or cold weather or that the recovery from a late night takes longer that it use to. There are also changes not necessarily felt, such as homeostatic capacity returning elevated blood pressure to base levels.

Lab Tests, Devices and Apps

  • Cardiac Stress Test: this test is an assessment of the body’s response to an exercise heart rate challenge. Dr. Joon Yun describes this as a test, common in standard practice, that can be viewed as a “homeostatic capacity test”.

Other People, Books & Resources

People

  • Edward J. Calabrese Ph.D.: Dr. Joon Yun first heard about the idea of hormesis from him.
  • Aubrey de Grey: a link to Aubrey de Grey’s published work. He was also mentioned in this episode by Dr. Joon Yun in reference to the Methuselah prize. We talked to Aubrey de Grey about his framework to increase longevity in Episode 14.

Organizations

  • Methuselah Mouse Prize (MPrize): started in 2003, this prize was designed to accelerate the development of life extension therapies. In 2009, the MPrize for both longevity and rejuvenation were awarded. Currently, $1.4 million is available for awarding to researchers who can top previous winners’ performances.

Full Interview Transcript

Transcript - Click Here to Read

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