Apple Watch Series 8 intermittent heart rate reading during outdoor walking

During all, yes, all my outdoor walks in many different locations my Apple Watch does not consistently record my heart rate. Sometimes for significant periods of time during my workouts the heart rate is greyed out.

This is more than a mild annoyance because this reading impacts others - like the 30vo2Max.

I have read all the articles, tried all the fixes. It appears to be a long term issue that hasn’t gotten the proper attention to fix? Or have I missed something?

Thanks!