Smart watch for heart monitoring

[fellerr]

Anyone use a smart watch for heart monitoring purposes? Have had some intermittent heart issues. Checked out with the doc and everything checked out fine. He mentioned some people wearing apple watches to monitor their heart rate and rhythm. Heart issues and afib run rampant in my family, so thought it might not be a bad idea to try it to monitor. Did a little googling and sounds like they are fairly accurate, but thought someone might have first hand knowledge about it here!

 

[KChunter71]

My dad uses the newer Apple Watch to update him if he is in a fib. It really does work for him.

 

[wyogoat]

I’ve been a high level competitive cyclist most of my life and wear a chest sensor monitor daily. I can tell you the Garmin Instinct is NOT an accurate measure of your HR as a wrist mounted device. Way off.
Maybe the Apple is a better option.

 

[tony]

Just bought an Amazfit T Rex 3. Does what you want and a whole lot more.
In general use the battery lasts close to a month. I’m still playing with all the features.

Amazfit T-Rex 3 Rugged GPS Smartwatch

T-Rex 3 for outdoor fitness athletes. With 27 days of battery, waterproof to 328 feet, works in temps from 158°F to -22°F, and GPS disablement for privacy. A large 1.5 inch face with a bright 2,000 nit screen for GPS maps, workout data, and sleep recovery. Data privacy that's best in class, and...

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[tdhanses]

Apple Watch Ultra has a bunch of health indicators it can track, even has an ecg and blood oxygen sensor.

I use it to track meds, steps, calories, heart, sound levels, active energy, resting energy, active heart, resting heart, sleep, physical effort, blood oxygen, standing mins, exercise mins, walking speed, stairs, heart rate variability, time in daylight, respiratory rate, wrist temp baseline and vitals. I think it can also do blood pressure.

 

[ztc92]

I work in healthcare as a family physician. I am NOT a cardiologist but have some experience in this realm. To my knowledge, the Apple Watch and some competitors are able to identify the specific heart rhythm of atrial fibrillation (a-fib). Beyond that, I don’t believe they can do other interpretations but they may alert you that your heart rhythm is “irregular” and suggest you see a medical provider.

I occasionally have patients come in due to these alerts and often the watch is correct regarding a-fib. There are some other less concerning rhythms can mimic a-fib and that’s why it’s best to get a formal EKG or wear a holter monitor once the watch detects something is off.

For what it’s worth, A-fib is a very important issue to identify as the heart beat in a-fib allows blood to pool in the atrium (top chambers) and this pooling of blood has the potential to form blood clots that can result in strokes and other complications. This is why most people with a-fib are on blood thinners unless they have a reason not to be.

To your question - I think a watch can be a great warning sign that something is off but it doesn’t replace a proper assessment with a medical provider. Another technology you could consider is the at-home EKG machines that use signal from your fingertips. I don’t know a lot about them but recall reading they are more accurate than a wearable such as a watch.

I don’t know much about them but this is one is see advertised often. I have no interest in the company or product and don’t know anyone who has used one. If interested, I’d talk to your doctor about the pros/cons.

Personal EKG Devices by AliveCor

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[Marbles]

They are ok, can be a nice data point if a patient brings in the tracing. I would not make a diagnosis off what the algorithm says.

You can also look at KardiaMobile if a smart watch is not something you actually want.

 

[mtnbound]

I have used different Garmin watches for years and the wrist only HR are not very accurate so I always use it with a chest strap monitor for best accuracy. I would not trust it for situation.

 

[Maddog58]

I use my Apple Watch and it monitors my heart rate pretty close.

 

[307]

Anyone use a smart watch for heart monitoring purposes? Have had some intermittent heart issues. Checked out with the doc and everything checked out fine. He mentioned some people wearing apple watches to monitor their heart rate and rhythm. Heart issues and afib run rampant in my family, so thought it might not be a bad idea to try it to monitor. Did a little googling and sounds like they are fairly accurate, but thought someone might have first hand knowledge about it here!

The most important thing to know is that they are not a medical device. They have limitations, and are not intended to diagnose, nor to replace proper evaluation and monitoring.

However, they're pretty good IMO as a monitoring device at the non-medical level. IOW, as long as you know their limitations and keep that in mind when considering the data they produce, they can be very useful.

If I had your family history, I'd absolutely wear one.

 

[Jskaanland]

The Garmin optical ones on early gens, probably not accurate enough to go off of. I've done some side by sides with a chest strap vs my Fenix 6. I did that after a buddy in the high level athletic training space laughed as we were hiking and I told him my heart rate based off my watch.

Garmin has a new sensor on the Epix Pro 2 and I think the Fenix 7. I'm not sure what the reliability is on it.