HRV signatures
Key principle
Cannabis does not produce a one-direction HRV rule. Acute and chronic states point in opposite directions.
Acute intoxication
- HF-HRV reduces → sympathetic shift
- HRV becomes less interpretable as a recovery metric during intoxication
- Biphasic BP: early sympathetic rise, later orthostatic hypotension (tolerated in chronic users)
Chronic baseline
- Heavy users at rest can show higher RMSSD than controls (e.g., 56.2 ms vs 48.6 ms)
- Opposite direction from acute → naive HRV detectors will misclassify
Vitals implication
HRV is a context feature, not a primary cannabis detector. Use HR delta from personal baseline as the anchor signal, with HRV as corroborating context only.
Primary detection stack
HR delta from baseline + minimum HR / plateau pattern + RMSSD context + motion to separate from exercise.