Computational and Memory Efficiency in Heartbeat Rate Detection: A Review of ECG and PPG Techniques

(1) Background: Heartbeat detection from electrocardiogram (ECG) and photoplethysmograph (PPG) signals is widely used in wearable devices for health monitoring, fitness tracking, and stress assessment. While numerous methods have been proposed, their practical suitability depends not only on accuracy but also on computational and memory constraints inherent to resource-limited systems. (2) Methods: A scoping review of 52 studies published between 2017 and 2024 was conducted, covering time-domain, frequency-domain, matrix-based, and machine learning approaches. The methods were evaluated according to estimation accuracy, computational complexity, memory footprint, and suitability for on-device implementation. (3) Results: Time-domain peak detection methods consistently provide high accuracy (minimum of 79.25%, maximum of 99.96%, and median ≥99.69%) for ECG and reliable heart rate estimation for PPG with linear computational complexity, low memory requirements and low energy consumption. Frequency-domain approaches are suitable for average heart rate estimation from PPG but do not preserve inter-beat intervals (error range of 1.07, 6.4 beats per minute (BPM)). Matrix-based and machine learning methods often entail higher computational cost without proportional performance gains in wearable contexts (error range of 1.07, 6.4 BPM for PPG signals; accuracy in range of 95.4, 99.96% for ECG). (4) Conclusions: Lightweight signal-processing techniques offer the most favorable trade-off between accuracy and efficiency for wearable implementations, whereas computationally intensive approaches are better suited for edge- or cloud-based processing.