Objective Pulse rate variability has been widely used as a proxy for heart rate variability. However, studies have shown that a variety of factors, such as respiratory system and autonomic nervous regulation, can affect the consistency of the two. This study hopes to take advantage of the controllable parameters of the experimental system of cardiopulmonary bypass, and investigate whether the changes of blood flow parameters have an effect on pulse rate through a series of experiments. Methods In this study, a set of human circulatory system equipped with an in vitro wrist model was established. By changing the parameters of heart rate, wrist flow, pressure and system compliance, the photoplethysmography pulse wave signal was obtained from the wrist model and the time-domain and frequency domain indexes of pulse rate variability were extracted. Results The change of heart rate, pressure and system compliance will cause the change of pulse shape, but the time domain indexes NN50 and PNN50, which can indicate the pulse rate variability, are 0, and other indexes and frequency domain indexes are in the very low value category. Conclusions In the absence of heart rate variability, hemodynamic changes such as heart rate, wrist flow, blood pressure and system compliance did not produce significant pulse rate variability. This study can provide a reference for more studies on pulse rate variability and heart rate variability with more convenient wrist acquisition equipment.