I have a basic Fitbit......steps/distance/calories/time, but am thinking of upgrading to one that measures my pulse/heartbeat and sleep.
As I am in persistent.....will it be able to read this OK?
I don't want an expensive gadget.....like Apple watch or Kardia
Thanks
What on earth did we do before all these gismo's ?? Oh yes we enjoyed life.
No self respecting old nurse would b caught dead without her stethoscope in her purse!!!🤣🙈
I have just given in , finally, and ordered an Apple series 4 watch, got a good deal via my service provider ( his and hers, am 66 and beloved is approaching 83 with ongoing heart issues from a lifetime at high altitude , climbing etc) hoping that the cardiac function works. I was eventually diagnosed with PAF after 20 years of being patted on the head diagnosis.....Hoping it may be useful . Might put my BP up a bit trying to set them up though 😨will let you know! Anyone else had Success with them?
I just got one for my birthday 2 wk ago, I love it. I especially love the fall feature. Back in the day, families lived together and watched over each other. Today, too many elderly live alone and no one would know if they were lying injured for days.
Yes, I thought that was an excellent feature. My loved one often walks out dogs on his own. Brilliant idea, sad picture of modern life though
It is sad, my mother lived with us from age 89 til 97 when she died. There were times I wanted to do bodily harm to her, lol but sure do miss her.
The Fitbit does not work and gives faulty readings when clocking your HR. Apple Watch is the only one that is reliable.
As I can see it there are three MAIN suppliers - Fitbit, Garmin and Apple. From my limited experience I felt the Apple was one that was charging you for the name and Apple products are renowned for being over priced. Fitbit is a very designer product that appears to dwell on design, shape, colour etc before anything else. So with that in mind I chose a Garmin. To be quite honest, I also felt the main feature of any watch was to record heart rate and BP and time and calories - anything else was a bonus. Furthermore why do I know how I slept at night - you even mention you knew instinctively what your sleep pattern had been. Other interesting features are the ability to record multiple training schedules, forward them, share them and join with others whilst training. Every watch you buy will have issues with recording data purely because of the way the info is entered into the device. They do say the very best for accuracy is a chest strap and sensor - however, if that too gets coated with sweat or grease there will be a similar problem. Hope this helps - personally I strongly believe that most Apple products have a snob value along with all the gym equipment and designel label kit some folk (both Cougar and Turkey Vulture alike) insist on buying just to get hot and sweaty in
Perhaps also worth considering the Polar Vantage V as recommended recently by john-boy-92
That's funny. There is a thing called the Apple Ecosystem. In other words, if you have other Apple devices, they can all work together. I would also like to mention beyond the snob factor, that Apple spends more money per product that any other company in that space. The Apple Watch can run circles around the Garmin and Fitbit combined with the myriad of apps available at your wrist. It's really how you want to spend your money and less of what you think Apple is or isn't.
Well said! I’m all for safety, not remotely interested in Snob value ,Cougar, Turkey Vulture or otherwise as described by Ticking- ticker 😨
Most of us here are just trying to find the best answers to help ourselves stay well!
WOW - That was all I was doing and clealy said it was my opinion. I do not write reviews you know and I am not the enemy. Just someone that decided to buy something that I could afford and that did not need an excessive load of bells and whistles, just enough to know the exercises was not killing me. Sorry for ruffling your feathers. You really do not have a clue about cougar or turkey vulture do you?
Di Nozzo?
So if you are aware, why the sarky reply when clearly you must have been aware of the humour within the post?
Whoops!.....I understand your logic here, I don't want fancy bells and whistles either!!.......I don't want to spend over £200 on an Apple watch (or £359 in some cases!)......measuring my HB is not that crucial.......its SO irregular anyway.
It's more of a curiousity, as to how exercise (such as walking, flat cycling) affects it, if at all.
I am in the UK and know nothing about Cougar etc....I guess Nike is similar!
Sorry you got a bit of a verbal bashing from another member : (
My understanding is that Fitbit devices are highly unreliable. I bought one a while back (not for AF) and it said it that I had woken up 28 times during the night when I had slept like a log. I don’t know how reliable the software on the Apple Watch is. Kardia is tried and tested and accepted by doctors.
In the United States, Kardia does not work well. I had one that had multiple false signals.
I find that surprising as Kardia is manufactured by a US company in the US. That you had one with “multiple false signals” suggests that you were unfortunate enough to have purchased one which was faulty; it doesn’t follow that the device is generally unreliable. On the contrary, it is well thought of by most medical professionals.
Must have been an early product release three because many of the reviewers of the Kardia were experiencing the same problem. Truthfully, as you probably know too, we have a keen sense when we are aware when in Afib. Who needs a Kardia?
I was not aware when I was in A fib.
I was not happy with my Kardia - and now it has packed up altogether.
I have been diagnosed with SVT (AVNRT) which my cycling chest strap garmin HR monitor helped me to initially diagnose that I had a problem. I then bought a fitbit blaze because it records HR. The way it records it though by shining light at your skin isn’t as good as the chest strap. It is easier to wear but as to measuring HR it is bordering on useless. My garmin can read 150 when an episode occurs (and I can feel it) but the fitbit says it is 70.
If you want a fitbit then get one but don’t expect the HR function to be much use.
I've had one for a long time and do check my HR on it. Whilst it's useful to check the 'trend' of your HR, you should be aware that they rarely give accurate readings and most doctors are very cynical if you try to quote 'numbers' recorded by a FitBit. That said, I continue to wear mine.
Netty
Fitbit is fine up to 100 bpm but it can’t handle anything over that - I wear one constantly just for confirmation that I am within MY norm !!!! I will move over to Apple Watch 5 next year as I think the 4 is still a bit bulky and battery life is short - but a wonderful devise without doubt
The Fitbit, as well as struggling to determine your heart rate when it is erratic, or when it goes higher than expected, also tends to average out the rate over a rather long period. I have the Charge 2, which shows my heart rate for up to a minute or more after I've taken it off, and frequently shows '--' while it is strapped in place, taking a minute or more to register my rate (while in sinus rhythm). It under reads by about 40% when I'm in AF.
For 'normal' people, or rather those without heart rhythm problems, it can be useful to register how high the HR goes during exercise, or how low it gets at night, or whatever. I'd never accept it as accurate though.
Save your cash and get a MiBand by Xiaomi, costs £25 and measures HR, sleep, records activities, alarm to remind you to take meds, buzzes you if you haven't moved for an hour etc etc and compatible with iPhone. If it works for your HR (there's a related app that can do continuous monitoring) you can upgrade to the cool Fitbit 😀
Hmm.....I didn't expect this post to become so "antagonistic"...best word that springs to mind at present.
In my original post, I said I didn't want anything expensive like an Apple watch, so it shouldn't have turned into a bit of a debate about the merits (or not!) of Apple!
Apologies to anyone who was offended!! : (
Everybody has an opinion and of course everybody is wrong according to somebody else so lets leave this now please.
I had FitBit’s in the past that broke within a year. Switched to a Garmin and it’s lasted far better. It measures HR and sleep. Had my first Afib 3 weeks ago. I was able to see my heart rate jump from 55 to 130 in a hour and knew something was wrong. Went to ER. I wore my Garmin while in the ER and hooked up to their machines. My Garmin was pretty darn accurate on the HR. I was impressed. The cardiologist was impressed and said he was glad I had it and was able to see the jump with the device. Check out the Garmin.
Measuring sleep apnea with Fitbit 
Tracking AF with a Fitbit/heart monitor
Fitbit readings.? 
Fitbit recommendations
