The Task Force was established by the Board of the European Society of Cardiology and co-sponsored by the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. It was organised jointly by the Working Groups on Arrhythmias and on Computers of Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology. After exchanges of written views on the subject, the main meeting of a

1) Using all measures, HRV of healthy subjects declines with aging, with measure-dependent patterns. 2) Using the SDNN index, rMSSD and pNN50, HRV of healthy subjects, particularly those >65 years old, may decrease to below levels associated with increased risk of mortality. 3) Gender influences HRV. Gender differences in HRV are age and measure dependent. 4) Age and gender also affect heart rate.

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