Apple Watch Series 4 - Atrial Fibrillation Reading Concerns

[MacaM]

Hi all, I’m new here.

Over the last year I’ve had several readings from my Apple Watch that have came back to me as Atrial Fibrillation on the tracings. I feel like I’m going absolutely crazy with my anxiety from it as I’ve been to a doctor, seen a cardiologist and had an ECG there which showed as Normal Sinus Rhythm.

My doctor told me not to rely on the Apple Watch and that it simply wasn’t good enough to diagnose me with AFib. However, as the below readings show, it’s telling me I’m AFib when he’s telling me I’m not. Doctor and the Cardio didn’t seem in the slightest bit concerned - yet my anxiety is still sky high.

Can anyone give me advice here? What do you think of the reading and am I simply just worrying too much about something that isn’t there?

EDIT: I also forgot to mention. I don’t know if age is a factor here, but I’m 23 and my doctor told me I’m “too young to be likely to have Afib.”

Thanks!

Mac

[EngMac]

If you think you have an irregular heart beat, you can feel your wrist or neck to verify this. Everyone had irregular heart beats from time to time. You do not need a watch. I have an earlier Apple Watch, without the chart. It will show the history of the heart rate and when in atrial fibrillation, it will jump around on each successive recording on the chart while you watch it. So you will know if your heart has been irregular. But it will record every little rate change as well which occurs every time you move, are stressed, etc. If you have atrial fibrillation, the heart rate will be higher. The rate will not be correct but different than the regular rate. Look up Medscape and the Apple Watch. Doctors make some interesting observations.

I suggest that you stop worrying about your heart and get on with living a healthy life. You are far too young to be worrying. Your heart will let you know when it needs attention. You are lucky the doctors have given you this advice. Some would have suggested ablations and a life of medication, all of which will affect your life far more than you will want. It will actually ruin it forever. That is something to worry about. Just read the posts to see.

[Bagrat]

Anxiety is horrible and for me was far worse than the symptoms I had with episodes of Afib. When your watch recorded these blips did you feel ok? Anxiety can mimic so many problems. Chest pain palpitations breathlessness nausea to name a few.

Maybe life is a bit of a struggle at present this can play tricks on you too. Everyone has palpitations for want of a better word ( it just means being aware of your heart) some people don't notice them.

Once , for whatever reason your brain has become aware you notice them more but by and large they are harmless.

[CDreamer]

Hi - firstly I wouldn’t rely on that trace, it maybe an indicator but I don’t think the IWatch has a good enough track record to be considered reliable, unlike the Kardia, but even that is a only a one lead trace so may not give the essential information required to see if there is really something going on. I know I have taken Kardia traces to my EP because I have seen something I didn’t understand and he has said - that looks like EMF interference, ignore it - so simple interference from a computer or other electrical equipment can cause disturbances.

As EngMac has explained a far more reliable and much simpler way is to just take your pulse with your fingers - good explanation of how to on the AFA site.

The trouble with AF is that it can come and go = Paroxysmal - and sometimes getting an ECG when you are in AF can be problematic - doesn’t mean you may not have had an episode so all your Doctor is saying is that you weren’t in AF at the time they took an ECG, there may be no disparity. It’s impossible to say. Oh - and you can have AF at any age, the youngest contributor on this forum was 18 years but it is rare for younger people and far more common the older you become. Your doctor’s lack of empathy and dismissive nature of your worries would incline me to seek another doctor.

Living with uncertainties = anxiety and anxiety will exacerbate your heart rhythm so the best way to help yourself is to find ways of supporting and easing your anxiety - learn breathing techniques, practice mindfulness meditation, yoga, Tai-Chi or just do something you really enjoy to distract yourself as this as a very physical affect and will help you relax. Counselling, CBT and other therapies can also be really helpful.

Anxiety is your worst enemy and unfortunately we now live in a world full of uncertainties which is fuelling our collective anxieties, and stress causes inflammation which causes disease so the VERY best way to treat yourself is to throw your watch away or at least turn off that confounded app and trust your body to alert you. If you feel palpitations take your pulse and note both the rhythm and the rate and try get yourself somewhere quickly to have a 12 lead ECG which will give you accurate information.

Best wishe CD

[MacaM]

Thank you to everyone for their insightful replies. I’m going to try and just sit back and relax, taking the advice given into account. I think my fears came from the news plastering in big bold letters “APPLE WATCH SAVES YOUNG ADULT FROM DANGEROUS HEART CONDITION!!!” Haha.

Once I saw that, my brain was instantly like “Oh wow, maybe you’re also one of those lucky young adults saved by the iWatch! Get to a doctor!” And no matter how many times I was reassured, I always somehow felt like I wasn’t being taken serious.

Thank you once again. Everybody that has replied have given me a great deal of confidence and calmed my anxiety.

[CDreamer in reply to MacaM]

I think you have highlighted a deep concern which is when large companies prey on our fears (and aren’t we all susceptible to their clever marketing!). We buy these devices to calm our fears - and instead they only heighten them.

AF is a heart condition but in itself, not a life threatening one but it is the most common heart condition. I do think that there is a place for these devices, I have one myself but have learned to not take to much notice of it and to not obsess about whether or not my heart may or may not go out of rhythm - I think that’s just experience because it used to do it so often and I survived! I am now much more interested in enjoying life.

Very best wishes CD

[Icenae]

I wear a fitbit which monitors the heart. It sometime shows alarming spikes and troughs. But As long as I feel ok I dont worry. The time to act is if you feel dizzy, tired or breathless. If you didnt notice any symptoms its not worth going down that path yet. And if you arent feeling any irregularity at that moment your ecg would be normal. If SYMPTOMS persist then you can have a recorder to catch it when it happens. But if I were you I would stop the heart monitoring and just use it for counting steps and fitness. Also I am frequently told by my cardiologist that af is not life threatening and wont shorten my life. They only treat symptoms to improve quality of life.

Try not to worry.

[Whatamug1]

Hi, I had the same on my Kardia but the consultant reassured me that the reading was wrong. I was given this reading on several occasions by my Kardia. She was very thorough and her own 'diagnosis' of the readings was Pseudo AF which were probably caused by other arrhythmias which I have, but please rest assured - they are benign. Since my late teens I have had ectopics, several of them - which was very distressing - I am nearly 65 now and they have only just dampened down these bumps and thumps with an anti depressant believe it or not. They are learning more and more about the heart as we speak. Please learn to 'Breath'.....there are apps you can get on your phone which can help. I had mine pop up a couple of times a day and believe me it soon showed me that I suffered from anxiety …. I have been working on it. It sounds like you are having anxiety attacks (commonly known as panic attacks). Nothing to worry about but you'll need to do some homework and it wont be an overnight fix. You'll be ok, breathe and relax. Go Girl !!! - All the best ann

[kitenski]

That trace looks very strange, there aren't any peaks! Was the AW diagnosis that you were in Afib?

I'm a week post ablation and getting A Fib espisodes (not unexpcted). This is my Apple Watch reading showing A Fib, which I've correlated to a Kardia AliveCor

*edit* doesn't look like I can attach a picture??

[MacaM in reply to kitenski]

Indeed! It came up as AFib but I also had a trace that was all over the place, then that trace showing quite low amp.

[Bambi65]

I can not, nor can my husband (who is a surgeon) rely on my pulse alone. Sometimes he cant even get a pulse on my wrist because of the afib. My afib Heart rate can be slow, or in the upper 190's, and all over the place. Im fortunate that I can feel the afib every time without question. I do use a Kardia for conformation. BUT... the one thing the heart beats have in common, is there are NO "P" waves. That little bump just before the beat. That is the true way of knowing if it is the AFIB monster.

[MacaM in reply to Bambi65]

Thank you for your reply! Would you say my reading displayed the telltale signs of Afib or would it be difficult to say?

[Bambi65 in reply to MacaM]

what do you see? Do you see a small hump before your beat? Thats what determines afib or not. If you feel fine, then go have fun. Leave all this shit behind you. Im 65, and I travel all over the world. The monster will not, I will not allow it to control me or stop me from having fun. Get on with you life, you may only have 80 years left, and it passes quickly. Make a list of all the things you want to see, do, taste, feel, and experience reguardless of how absurd or rational it is. I did that very thing 15 years ago when my kids got started going off to college and wrote them all down in a small book. Im still checking things off on my list that I thought I would never be able to do. Get out there and live.!!!!

[MacaM in reply to Bambi65]

Mine is really weird! Sometimes it shows bumps, sometimes it doesn’t. For example, I’ll have a reading on my Apple Watch that alerts as Afib. I’ll do another reading a few seconds later and it’ll return to me as Sinus Rhythm. Surely if I was Afib it wouldn’t just disappear within seconds, you know what I mean? The palpitations are there, sometimes lightheadedness, but never consistent Afib readings.

I do really appreciate everyone’s advice on this, however. A lot of it brings peace of mind but multiple different opinions gives me a better overview of what to make of all of this madness.

[Bambi65 in reply to MacaM]

Get rid of the watch, and find something else to do with your time and life. Crazy comes to easy in old age so dont start early.