Commentary on Masel et al. Predicting discharge of palliative care inpatients by measuring their heart rate variability

The accurate determination of prognosis is a challenging and important aspect of end of life care. A more accurate prognosis provides patients and their families’ time to plan and prepare for the end of life, and prioritize care based on individual goals and values. While a number of prognostic tools and indices provide insight into a patient’s general prognosis, the use of heart rate variability (HRV) as a predictor of live discharge from a palliative care unit (PCU) is a unique approach to exploring non-invasive ways for more accurate prognostication.