Smart watches for heart issues

[classic33]

And any NHS device readings too when it suits them.

My experience of AF & the NHS is that half of them can't recognise AF when it hits them in the face.

Same here, a decade or more of palpitations and nothing showed any problems right up until I was blue lighted into A&E.

Is the Apple an infra red detector type?
IR detectors never show any difference on me either when I'm in NSR, but when I'm in AF at 210bpm the IR ones show 70bpm.

In the lobby at A&E, the paramedics were showing the triage nurse my ecg worriedly trying to explain that my HR was 200+, but she wouldnt take any notice of them because her IR finger clip said 70bpm.

They aren't reliable.

The finger clips are well known for possible inaccurate readings on darker skin.
Even the port wine birthmark on my left hand throws them.

The other option your left with is a longer spell in A&E, as they wire you up to an ECG. Neither of which is what the OP is asking about.

 

[ianrauk]

However, I've always understood that wrist devices are of limited accuracy for heart monitoring

Especially if you have wrist tattoos. I have quite dark sleeve tattoos that cover my wrists. The dark ink means that my smart watch (Garmin) doesn't read my heart rate at all well if at all.

 

[tom73]

The finger clips are well known for possible inaccurate readings on darker skin.
Even the port wine birthmark on my left hand throws them.

The other option your left with is a longer spell in A&E, as they wire you up to an ECG. Neither of which is what the OP is asking about.

This is indeed well known, it's part of much wider issue increasingly in health care and the wider public of relying on the machine that go's ping. Ambo crews are well known for it. Even me with over 20 years voluntary pre hospital care experience. Never trusts a reading and looks at wider picture. I've in the past failed students who have blindly followed tech. Many new HCP's now have no idea how to take manual BP's. Add in the tend of allowing even more unqualified staff to do stuff with machines. It's only set to get worse, my local hospital removed ob's machines from wards to force staff. To look and talk to patients using the time to spot small things you only see when going sets of basic obs.

 

[Heavymental]

A Kardia device carried in the pocket will give you high quality recordings when you feel irregularities.

Actually, I might go for this as the episodes I have (whatever they are) often last for many minutes at a time (as I type I've felt something is going on for the last half hour or so). So I don't think I'd struggle to pin one down. This also sounds more accurate than an infra red device (a smartwatch) and also I can pick one up on Vinted for £50!

 

[boydj]

Anyone have a recommendation for a smartwatch that will detect heart arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation etc? I've googled it but just wondering if anyone had any direct experience. I'm getting the odd palpitation and would like some data as the doc doesn't think I need a 24hr ECG or anything.

I think just about any decent watch will give you useable information. Read the reviews and comparison articles - Google is your friend here.

I have a cheap Huawei watch, and it's a life-saver. The watch was telling me that my overnight pulse was very low, dropping into the 30's, though during the day my heart seemed to be reacting normally as I went about my day, including when cycling or golfing.

I've always been very fit, even now I'm well into my 70's, so have always had a fairly low heart rate, but this was worrying enough for me to go to the doctor, who sent me to cardiology at the local hospital. They had me wear a monitor for 24 hours and this showed that overnight my heart was actually skipping beats. As a result, I've had a pacemaker fitted and my overnight / resting pulse is now in the mid-50's.

 

[Heavymental]

A Kardia device carried in the pocket will give you high quality recordings when you feel irregularities.

By way of update for people looking for answers on the subject in future... I bought one of these (Kardiamobile) and was very quickly able to use it to identify that the sensation was caused by Premature Ventricular Contractions. Although I realised after purchase that I had to pay for a subscription to gain access to the advanced tools as without the subscription I would have had to ask someone to interpret the trace. I've been told they're fairly normal and not a cause for concern as they are not accompanied by any dizziness or shortness of breath etc. I have told the doc but don't expect they will want to test me further. I'm still not comfortable with it but mostly because I find the thought of it unsettling and would be much happier if I wasn't aware of my heartbeat generally!

 

[stephec]

I have a slightly abnormal please heart best (I dont understand the mechanics, but apparently its noww to worry about even though it looks like my ticker has endured a mild hesrt attack) and its detectable on my old Fenix 6 with the correct app.

What app is that, I've got a Fenix 6 and wouldn't mind a look at that, is it through Garmin Connect IQ?

 

[kingrollo]

I went through similar after my HA last year.

Of course the grand idea is that wearing or using one of these devices - will provide data that you can present to the NHS and this can catch a problem early and avoid the worst case scenario.

However you have to consider that millions of these things have been sold and great number result in false positives and/or the end user is reading them as a false positive. My cardiac rehab team advised against such a device other than a basic HRM and a home blood pressure device.

At the end of the day of good whack of early diagnosis is how you are feeling. for example they advised that the only chest pains they are concerned about is central chest pains that radiate outwards - or other symptoms like breathlessness giddy spells etc.