Fitbit readings.?

[Jetcat]

Has anyone had any issues with possible incorrect heart rate readings from their Fitbit watch.? The reason I ask is because sometimes when I look a back at my daily reading and sometimes see a massive spike in heart rate up to 135 BPM for a period of a few minutes. This has left me really confused as I normally feel every single ectopic/missed beat and Iv felt every afib episode Iv had too and still do.! But when I look back at the times it’s reading really high it’s at times that I’m not feeling anything at all.

[jeanjeannie50]

People with normal AF free hearts have extra beats from time to time. Sounds like that's what you may be recording.

Dr Sanjay Gupta of York Cardiology has made a recording about it in YouTube, I've had a look but sorry can't find that particular one.

Jean

[Jetcat in reply to jeanjeannie50]

That’s true but why don’t feel these when I feel every other single missed beat etc?x

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Jetcat]

I would guess it's because its literally just a couple of extra beats. I will see if I can find the cardiologists talk about it tomorrow.

[Jetcat in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thankyou jeannie

[Paulbounce]

Hi Jet.

I have also had inaccurate readings from my Fitbit watch. Often it's spot on but other times not so - at all.

This is my experience with the watch. When I first put it on it shows a silly rate ie 180 bpm minute and takes a few minutes to correct itself. I tend to give 5 minutes before doing a check so it has time to adjust to my pulse.

The other thing I do is wear it back to front. So it should be worn as a normal watch but I wear it 'backwards' where my pulse is - I hope that makes sense. I've found it gives a better reading this way.

Paul

[Jetcat in reply to Paulbounce]

Thanks Paul, I’ll try that .👍

[CDreamer in reply to Paulbounce]

iWatch also does occasional rogue HR spikes when putting it on, I tend to ignore any such readings.

Monitoring trends is useful, analysing everything can raise anxiety.

[Ducky2003]

Happens to me too sometimes. I have a Versa 2. I'm 7 weeks post ablation and its only been happening since then so I'm assuming it's me, not the watch and I'm just not feeling the usual thuds with it.

[Jaws66]

I suspect it is accurate, and not missing beats. If your heart is beating faster it will not be working as hard, so you are less likely to notice it.

[DevonHubby1]

My wife and I both wear FitBit Charge 2. She has AF , I don't. We find the Fitbit is consistent with other devices we have such as the oxomiter and the BP monitor. None of them deal that well with AF although they show the cycling up and down of the HR. In my case, I see occasional spikes of 178,and on one occasion last week I was in fat burn for 22 hours even though I know I was asleep for a portion of it. When I see these, but don't feel unwell then I trust to what my body is telling me and ignore the device.

[Jetcat in reply to DevonHubby1]

Thanks devon 👍

[Hylda2]

I have an Apple Watch and it does exactly the same. I’ve seen the odd spike in the 200s even when sitting in a chair. It’s only when I look at HeartWatch that I even realise they are there.

[Jetcat in reply to Hylda2]

Yes that’s same with me too. I’m going to stop looking at it I think.😂

[Hylda2]

I only look once a day now and just think ooh that’s interesting x

[Jetcat in reply to Hylda2]

I think I’ll start doing that too.👍

[Snookersteve]

I have a Polar OH1 armband for measuring Heart Rate. When I was researching which armband to purchase I found that the folks that do the reviews often wear several armbands and/or watches at the same time. They can then compare the accuracy of each HR monitor during exactly the same time frame. It seems that some of these HR monitors do occasionally have spikes for no apparent reason. If you are concerned about the Fitbit watch readings then it might be worth considering obtaining a heart rate monitor armband (they are around £70 to £80) and wearing it at the same time as your watch and then comparing to see if the armband gives a spike at the same time as the Fitbit watch. This would give you proof as to whether the Fitbit watch is giving you true readings or not and then you could decide whether to ignore these spikes or take action. Steve.

[Visigoth]

I also find the Fitbit is sometimes inaccurate, including two strange spikes this week. I think it's ok most of the time but I take the odd readings with a pinch of salt!