I currently have a Fitbit watch which I found so helpful in recording the normal parameters of heart rate, health metrics, steps, exercise, calories etc and in particular sleep patterns.
All was fine until I went into persistent AF such that my Fitbit no longer records sleep patterns plus a number of other metrics which makes its use limited.
I am therefore looking to purchase a new device but are unsure if the Apple Watch would be a good choice or are there better options out there.
I am not concerned about a device that can tell me if I am in AF or that can take an ECG as I have a KardiaMobile6L device which is brilliant at that.
I am more interested in one that can provide accurate information when in AF such as heart rate, exercise and ideally sleep patterns as I do wonder about the accuracy of the information my Fitbit now provides.
There are so many different products on the market which makes it difficult to choose therefore I would prefer to go by recommendations from actual owners.
Any guidance would therefore be greatly appreciated.
It can sometimes be difficult for many heart (HR) rate devices to accurately measure HR when in afib, but I find the Apple Watch does a decent job for me, especially in "workout mode" where it gives you a continuous HR readout. When in doubt, I simply do an ecg on the watch (or Kardia) and count the beats on a 30 second strip and multiply by two. You can probably do the same thing using your pulse. Apple Watch also has some of the other features you mention, not sure about sleep tracking though.
The difficulty with nearly all wearable devices (when in AF) is that they usually depend on a small flashing LED lamp and a colour sensing light detector seeing the tiny difference in skin colour when the heart pumps up the capillary blood vessels, thereby detecting a 'pulse'. For this to work, they usually depend on an algorithm looking for a _regular_ rhythm or beat, and this gets confused by AF being irregular. Also, to detect sleep, a Fitbit depends on a slowing down of the heart, which doesn't happen when in AF. So basically, your only recourse would be to some device that can detect the irregular electrical output of the heart, and this won't detect when you are asleep if that matters to you.
There are chest strap monitors available, but I've no knowledge of them. I believe one is called a Polar monitor. Any wearable such as an Apple watch will use the flashing LED for pulse measurement, but it also can detect the heart electrical activity when you select the associated App on your iPhone and touch the bezel with the 'off' hand, just like the two lead Kardia.
I also have a Polar chest strap that syncs to my Apple Watch. Like all the devices mentioned, they may work well all or some the time, or may not, depending on a number of factors.
The only way to know how accurately each of these devices works for you is to first calculate your true heart rate and then compare it to the heart rate shown on the device.
To get your true heart rate, count the beats from a 30 second ecg of a Kardia or Apple Watch and multiple by two. Alternatively, if you can, count the beats old school at your pulse or wrist.
I find a Withings Scanwatch does an excellent job for me. Some people have criticised the cheaper Withings watches as being unreliable. I like the fact that the battery lasts a couple of weeks between charges. It gives good sleep readings (I'm in permanent AF) but doesn't distinguish REM sleep, only light and deep sleep.
I like that it looks a bit more like a traditional watch than the large lumps of square-ish plastic that most of the other smartwatches seem to be!
See withings.com/uk/en/scanwatc... produce some well-designed and clinically validated consumer health products. They are a French company but don't hold that against them!
It's me that has criticised the cheaper Withings watch. I had a MoveECG from them that I loved, at first. However, it was a plastic body, with a cheap plastic lens, and advertised as a replaceable battery which could last 12 months. The battery barely lasted three months, and it was very fussy about what brand of battery was used. The body got all chewed up with taking off and putting back on the stainless steel back, until eventually it simply would NOT fit back on. Feedback on the company's chatroom revealed that they didn't honour any guarantees, and didn't even acknowledge emails or letters. That put me off the company for life.
However, I'm willing to believe that the ScanWatch is a good product, as the MoveECG performed excellently until the lens got all beat up and the body crumbled and distorted.
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