diff --git a/src/lib/insights/derived/__tests__/hrv-balance.test.ts b/src/lib/insights/derived/__tests__/hrv-balance.test.ts
index b293eb19a..ddfde8842 100644
--- a/src/lib/insights/derived/__tests__/hrv-balance.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/insights/derived/__tests__/hrv-balance.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,13 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
 
 const computeVitalsBaseline = vi.fn();
+const readDayMeanSeries = vi.fn();
 vi.mock("../baseline", () => ({
   computeVitalsBaseline: (...a: unknown[]) => computeVitalsBaseline(...a),
+  readDayMeanSeries: (...a: unknown[]) => readDayMeanSeries(...a),
+}));
+vi.mock("@/lib/rollups/measurement-coverage", () => ({
+  probeRollupCoverage: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(new Map()),
 }));
 
 import { computeHrvBalance, placeHrvBalance } from "../hrv-balance";
@@ -10,7 +15,20 @@ import { computeHrvBalance, placeHrvBalance } from "../hrv-balance";
 const NOW = new Date("2026-06-02T07:00:00Z");
 const PROFILE = { ageYears: 40, sex: "MALE" as const };
 
-beforeEach(() => vi.clearAllMocks());
+/** Build a `readDayMeanSeries` return from a list of recent DAY means. */
+function recentSeries(means: number[]) {
+  return {
+    points: means.map((mean, i) => ({ day: `2026-05-${20 + i}`, mean })),
+    source: "DAY" as const,
+  };
+}
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  vi.clearAllMocks();
+  // Default: the recent trend sits on the band center so unrelated tests stay
+  // "balanced" unless they override the series.
+  readDayMeanSeries.mockResolvedValue(recentSeries([60, 60, 60]));
+});
 
 describe("placeHrvBalance", () => {
   it("low below the band floor", () => {
@@ -40,7 +58,7 @@ describe("computeHrvBalance", () => {
     }
   });
 
-  it("builds a balanced band off the baseline center", async () => {
+  it("builds a balanced band when the recent trend sits inside the band", async () => {
     computeVitalsBaseline.mockResolvedValueOnce({
       status: "ok",
       value: { type: "HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY", center: 60, low: 40, high: 80, spread: 20, sampleDays: 21, k: 3 },
@@ -48,14 +66,74 @@ describe("computeHrvBalance", () => {
       confidence: { score: 70, band: "medium" },
       provenance: { inputs: ["HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY"], source: "DAY", windowDays: 30, computedAt: "x" },
     });
+    // Recent trend right around the center → balanced.
+    readDayMeanSeries.mockResolvedValueOnce(recentSeries([58, 62, 60]));
     const r = await computeHrvBalance("u1", PROFILE, { now: NOW });
     expect(r.status).toBe("ok");
     if (r.status === "ok") {
       expect(r.value.band).toBe("balanced");
-      expect(r.value.recentAvg).toBe(60);
+      expect(r.value.recentAvg).toBeCloseTo(60, 5);
       expect(r.value.baselineLow).toBe(40);
       expect(r.value.baselineHigh).toBe(80);
       expect(r.value.sampleDays).toBe(21);
     }
   });
+
+  it("flags 'low' when the RECENT trend is suppressed below the band, not the band center", async () => {
+    // The band center sits inside [low,high] by construction; the previous
+    // implementation read it directly so the recentAvg could never go low.
+    // Drive a suppressed recent 7-day trend and assert it places "low".
+    computeVitalsBaseline.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      status: "ok",
+      value: { type: "HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY", center: 60, low: 40, high: 80, spread: 20, sampleDays: 21, k: 3 },
+      coverage: { requiredInputs: 1, presentInputs: 1, historyDays: 21, missing: [] },
+      confidence: { score: 70, band: "medium" },
+      provenance: { inputs: ["HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY"], source: "DAY", windowDays: 30, computedAt: "x" },
+    });
+    readDayMeanSeries.mockResolvedValueOnce(recentSeries([30, 28, 32]));
+    const r = await computeHrvBalance("u1", PROFILE, { now: NOW });
+    expect(r.status).toBe("ok");
+    if (r.status === "ok") {
+      expect(r.value.band).toBe("low");
+      expect(r.value.recentAvg).toBeCloseTo(30, 5);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("flags 'unbalanced' when the recent trend runs above the band high edge", async () => {
+    computeVitalsBaseline.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      status: "ok",
+      value: { type: "HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY", center: 60, low: 40, high: 80, spread: 20, sampleDays: 21, k: 3 },
+      coverage: { requiredInputs: 1, presentInputs: 1, historyDays: 21, missing: [] },
+      confidence: { score: 70, band: "medium" },
+      provenance: { inputs: ["HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY"], source: "DAY", windowDays: 30, computedAt: "x" },
+    });
+    readDayMeanSeries.mockResolvedValueOnce(recentSeries([95, 100, 98]));
+    const r = await computeHrvBalance("u1", PROFILE, { now: NOW });
+    expect(r.status).toBe("ok");
+    if (r.status === "ok") {
+      expect(r.value.band).toBe("unbalanced");
+      expect(r.value.recentAvg).toBeGreaterThan(80);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("uses only the last ≤ 7 DAY means for the recent trend", async () => {
+    computeVitalsBaseline.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      status: "ok",
+      value: { type: "HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY", center: 60, low: 40, high: 80, spread: 20, sampleDays: 21, k: 3 },
+      coverage: { requiredInputs: 1, presentInputs: 1, historyDays: 21, missing: [] },
+      confidence: { score: 70, band: "medium" },
+      provenance: { inputs: ["HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY"], source: "DAY", windowDays: 30, computedAt: "x" },
+    });
+    // 10 days: the first three (high) must NOT pull the recent mean up — only
+    // the last 7 (all ~30) count, so the trend is suppressed → "low".
+    readDayMeanSeries.mockResolvedValueOnce(
+      recentSeries([90, 90, 90, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30]),
+    );
+    const r = await computeHrvBalance("u1", PROFILE, { now: NOW });
+    expect(r.status).toBe("ok");
+    if (r.status === "ok") {
+      expect(r.value.recentAvg).toBeCloseTo(30, 5);
+      expect(r.value.band).toBe("low");
+    }
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/lib/insights/derived/hrv-balance.ts b/src/lib/insights/derived/hrv-balance.ts
index 8cb67fc9d..abff1c479 100644
--- a/src/lib/insights/derived/hrv-balance.ts
+++ b/src/lib/insights/derived/hrv-balance.ts
@@ -29,19 +29,29 @@
  * placement helper is exported pure for the unit tests.
  */
 import type { MeasurementType } from "@/generated/prisma/client";
-import type { RollupCoverageMap } from "@/lib/rollups/measurement-coverage";
+import {
+  probeRollupCoverage,
+  type RollupCoverageMap,
+} from "@/lib/rollups/measurement-coverage";
 import {
   buildInsufficient,
   buildOk,
   deriveCoverage,
   nowProvenanceTimestamp,
 } from "./coverage";
-import { computeVitalsBaseline, type BaselineProfile } from "./baseline";
+import {
+  computeVitalsBaseline,
+  readDayMeanSeries,
+  type BaselineProfile,
+} from "./baseline";
 import { isDerivedOk } from "./types";
 import type { Derived } from "./types";
 
 const HRV_TYPE: MeasurementType = "HEART_RATE_VARIABILITY";
 
+/** The recent trend rides the last ≤ this many DAY means. */
+const RECENT_TREND_DAYS = 7;
+
 /** Personal-trend balance placement. */
 export type HrvBalanceBand = "balanced" | "unbalanced" | "low";
 
@@ -89,12 +99,16 @@ export async function computeHrvBalance(
 ): Promise<Derived<HrvBalanceValue>> {
   const now = opts?.now ?? new Date();
   const computedAt = nowProvenanceTimestamp(now);
+  // One coverage probe shared between the baseline read below and the
+  // recent-trend read (the pool-contention mitigation; the route passes a
+  // pre-probed map).
+  const coverageMap = opts?.coverage ?? (await probeRollupCoverage(userId));
 
   const baseline = await computeVitalsBaseline(userId, profile, {
     type: HRV_TYPE,
     windowDays: opts?.windowDays,
     now,
-    coverage: opts?.coverage,
+    coverage: coverageMap,
   });
 
   // Below the band floor (or no data) — surface the baseline engine's gated
@@ -107,11 +121,28 @@ export async function computeHrvBalance(
     });
   }
 
-  // The baseline already computed the robust center+band over DAY means; the
-  // recent average rides the same center for a stable, sparse-cadence-safe
-  // placement (per-day SDNN is noisy; the median center is the honest
-  // "recent typical").
-  const recentAvg = baseline.value.center;
+  // The recent average is the mean of the last ≤ 7 DAY means — the RECENT
+  // TREND, placed against the longer-window personal band. Reading the band
+  // center here (the previous behaviour) made `recentAvg` identical to the
+  // band midpoint by construction, so it could never fall outside the band:
+  // the "low" / "unbalanced" arms were dead and the card always read
+  // "balanced". The recent-trend mean can drift below the band's low edge
+  // (suppressed HRV) or above its high edge, which is the whole point of a
+  // trend-vs-baseline placement. Falls back to the band center only when the
+  // recent series is somehow empty (the baseline being `ok` already implies
+  // ≥ 7 backing days, so this is defensive).
+  const recent = await readDayMeanSeries(
+    userId,
+    HRV_TYPE,
+    baseline.provenance.windowDays,
+    now,
+    coverageMap,
+  );
+  const recentPoints = recent.points.slice(-RECENT_TREND_DAYS);
+  const recentAvg =
+    recentPoints.length > 0
+      ? recentPoints.reduce((s, p) => s + p.mean, 0) / recentPoints.length
+      : baseline.value.center;
   const band = placeHrvBalance(
     recentAvg,
     baseline.value.low,