I am thinking about buying an Apple Watch mainly for its ability to pick up on irregular heartbeats, I find a couple of things confusing. One being that it “ occasionally “checks for this( what does that mean ), the other is how does it report it, is it immediately? I know a lot of you have these watches do you use this function, can you answer the above and is it any good.
Thanks
OK - the watch works on green light LEDs and measures HR. It doesn’t do this all the time but every 3-4 mins or so but there are different settings on the App which you change on your smart phone. One of the settings you can change is when that works and for how long. I have mine set to alert me when the HR exceeds 120 because I know from experience that it will often exceed 120 when I’m in AF - it then gives me a vibration on my wrist alerting me to high HR so I am able to take an ECG trace on the watch by holding the crown (I have iWatch5 - I believe the latest versions work slightly differently?). It’s the ECG which will then confirm whether or not if I’m in AF or not. You have to hold the crown for 30 secs keeping very still, as you would for an ECG trace.
The variables will be the model and the App settings so which model were you thinking of getting?
PS - its a great bit of kit but if you only want to confirm whether or not you are in AF and are not bothered by wanting a wearable or don’t already have an iPhone then I would look at buying something like the Kardia - works with most phones, is very small so fits into pocket or small bag and much, much cheaper.
I didn’t buy the iWatch for the heart monitoring.
Thanks CD, I am more interested in the Apple 6 or 7 which pick up Irregular heart beat as well as high and low.
Hi Sherbett
Quick note-
I have rapid AF (1-2 per week 6-8 hours) and the Apple Watch doesn’t catch mine- if it does it has been by manual checking and then it tells me unclassified because the HR is too high 170+bpm. It can’t read beyond 140.
Kardia on the other hand is impeccable
Just my experience- best wishes for the best outcome!
Annie
I have an apple iwatch 4. I set high (100) and low (50 ) heart rate notifications using my iphone. If i am inactive and my heart rate stays above or below those numbers, I get an alert on my watch. ( very aware of this as I just had a six day afib event and my watch alerted me many times ). And then yes, I use it as described to take an ECG…that is saved on my phone so I can share with my doctor. This is on an iwatch 4. Have not purchased a 6 or 7 because the only health upgrade is that the newer ones will tell you your oxygen level. That was not worth the cost to me. Now if they can come up with BP read, that’s a major improvement.
Till then the move from iwatch 3 to 4 was the game changer with the ECG. Everything since has been cosmetic. Save $ get a iwatch 4.
You may find this helpful from Apple or go to YouTube as quite a few videos on how to set up the settings and take an ECG
I got an Apple Watch back in November. Not the top of the range, but the middle one (SE). In February it sent me AF alerts. I had got one that might show these, as my sisters had strokes related to AF.Anyway - it turns out that it had detected this while I was quietly eating my breakfast, but the alert appeared a few hours later while I was out for a walk. It happened again that afternoon - again it seemed to detect this at rest.
The doctor sent me to medical assessment, so I was diagnosed a couple of days later. It continued with the alerts for about two more days.
More or less says ‘a rhythm which could be AF was detected, if you have not already been diagnosed with this condition, consult your doctor’.
I’m really glad it was detected, as I really didn’t know I was in AF.
I’m very relieved to have anti-coagulants now, though anxious to find when any other tests will happen. Had a 5 day Holter monitor, and have been told to stay on Dronedarone until I see Cardiology. I worry more about the Dronedarone, so I need to be patient and see what they see!
Thanks Gumbycat, I thought that my be the case but I don’t think Apple explain it very well. So it would seem if you are asymptomatic it will pick it up for you.
It did for me.
I haven't read all the replies, but here is my view - something that reads your pulse from one part of your body can indicate whether you are in NSR or not, but if you are not in NSR then the heart rate it shows will not be accurate. Just keep that in mind.
But I don't see that as a problem because (a) you , Sherbett, just want to know if you in NSR / in AF and (b) (less relevant), if you are in A-fib (which I am in permanently) then the HR the watch tells you doesn't really mean anything ... (I am most welcome to violent opposition to this second point!)
Hi Jonathan
I am also in permanent AF.
Agree that HR is not accurate, but it does give you a range, correct ? e.g., if reading is 100 or above your normal HR, then one needs to relax or take action to reduce. Have read that taking your HR 3 consecutive times with pauses between can give a fairly accurate range.
May I ask your resting HR with permanent AF ? Mine is mid-low 80's, .50 metoprolol. Will reach mid 90's with extended activities like bending, carrying.
I am not trying to be difficult, I actually don't know.
Afib throws everything out and I don't trust any of the numbers that come from my monitors.
I feel the most need to rest when I am exerting myself and my heart rate doesn't keep up. Occasionally when hiking up steep hills my HR can be around 60-70 when it should be at least double that - that is when I take strain.
Generally when my HR is high, according to my HRM, I don't feel any problems.
I am not reckless - i actually can't jog and I can't hike faster than can i hike - i don't mountain bike - so i am not doing any stuff like high intensity interval training where I am putting myself at risk . The most risky stuff I do is hiking so my HR kind of doesn't matter to me.
I track it because I get nice rewards from my medical aid!
This doesn't answer any of your questions, but I hope it helps.
Thanks for the candid reply !
I have a 2021 SE which while unable to take an EKG does tell me if I get AF, I get an irregular rhythm notification.
For me the best thing is my Apple Watch helped me loose weight and be more active which had I think improved my AF
I have an Apple Watch 6 and iPhone 11 combination.It checks for AFib on a regular basis, day and night, whenever your arm is still.
It reports to the iPhone and the watch vibrates.
You can manually take an ECG by selecting the App and holding your finger to the crown for a countdown of 30 seconds.
The resultant trace is saved to the phone and can be mailed as a PDF to clinicians.
My Consultant Electrophysiologist Cardiologist has requested traces from my Apple Watch to examine.
My Fitbit has never let me down when I’m Afib.. I am never without it. It may not be as fancy as the Apple Watch but it works every time 😀
My understanding is that the watch checks five times per hour for an irregular pulse using the heart rate detector rather than the ECG monitor, i.e. it detects irregular beats where the timing between the beat varies. The ECG app requires two connections to work, so this is different as it looks for issues with the pulse rate as well as the various ECG waveforms (lack of P-wave, for example). This means that the heart rate monitor can miss occasional AF so can't be relied upon for that use, even though it is still, in my view, very useful. The irregular checks are, I think, to conserve battery power.
In every way, I think the Apple Watch is the bee's knees of smart watches!
Steve
I have Apple Watch 6 and it has picked up my AFib every time without me having to do an ECG trace. I get an alert on my wrist that the watch has picked up high rate and AFib which the consultant has used when I send them through to the arrhythmia nurse.
Great watch 👍
Hi there, If you would like any information about alternative devices for recording her heart rhythm, you may find our 'Which ECG is Right for You?' helpful from our patient resources. heartrhythmalliance.org/afa... It is also known that the Apple Watch is recognised by NICE.
Thank you
Works for me 
When I get AF it's mostly in the evenings and the watch always picks it up which I can then show my doctor when and how many times I have a AF attack
That’s good, thanks Dave
Please be aware these watches can increase anxiety which exacerbates the problem.Unfortunately for the first year of my now persistant a fib this was me.Best wishes.
I've only had two incidents in my three year history of Afib--the original one, plus Aflutter about a year later. Both were stopped by cardioversion. After the second incident my cardiologist recommended the Kardia device. He said the Apple can give false positives, and of course the Kardia is much cheaper. You don't, however, get constant monitoring with the Kardia.
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