Apple Watch Alerts for High Pulse Rate

[Debjimmay]

I have PAF and have between 18,000 and 26,000 arrhythmias every day. I use the Wellue ECG recorder to get these readings. The other night while I was sleeping, I had 3 alerts at 3 different times during the night on my Apple Watch saying my BPMs were from 111 to 114 for for at least 10 minutes. I've never had this alert before and I'm worried and wondering how my heart rate went up so high while I was sleeping. Has anyone also ever experienced this or know what this might mean?

[BobD Volunteer]

Not particularly high at all. (only10% above normal range. ) Maybe get tested for sleep apnoea though.

[Debjimmay in reply to BobD]

Thanks for your reply. I’ve been tested for sleep apnea. I just thought it was strange because I’ve never had that alert from my Apple Watch before.

[mav7 in reply to Debjimmay]

May want to ask doctor to wear a holter monitor or other medical device to confirm those readings.

When initially diagnosed with afib, I recorded 130-135 bpm for a short period wearing a Zio Patch. This was prior to beginning Metoprolol. So not unusual while sleeping if you have afib.

[Debjimmay in reply to mav7]

Hi! Thank you. My cardiologist has a 30 day halter monitor ordered. He has me on 240 mg of diltiazem, but it seems like my arrhythmias are getting worse. I notice that you are taking metoprolol. Do you take this for arrhythmias? I’m thinking about asking my doctor if I can try the metoprolol as my arrhythmias have gotten way out of control.

[mav7 in reply to Debjimmay]

I have persistent afib and take Metoprolol for rate control which it does well.

After your holter monitor results, the doctor may recommend an antiarrythmic drug.

I have aortic stenosis which limits the antiarrythmic drugs I may take.

[Debjimmay in reply to mav7]

Yes, I’m thinking of asking my cardiologist if we can try the metoprolol and go off of the Diltiazem. He did try adding a low dose of metoprolol to the Diltiazem but it seemed to give me side effects so he took me off it. I’ve also tried flecinaide but I was unable to take it because it made my arrhythmias worse. I’m hoping after the Holter monitor they can see what’s going. Maybe here is a medication that will work better for me.

[mav7 in reply to Debjimmay]

Best to you !

[fairgo45 in reply to BobD]

As your a wellue 24 hour heart monitor owner as am I

You might like to add their 02 monitor to your collection as it is so useful for detecting sleep apnea.

My husband is the one who uses it and it gives great detail of his sleep which includes measuring the heart rate.

He doesn't have afib but does snore a lot so it has diognosed him with mild sleep apnea but normal heart rhythm no tachycardia or bradycardia it might be the answer to your problem.

Sorry Bob I didnt mean to send it to you

[Debjimmay in reply to fairgo45]

Yes, I love my Wellue 24 ECG Recorder. How often does your husband wear his? I wear mine about three times a week so I can see if I notice any increases or decreases in my arrhythmias, especially after a change in my medication. I’m beginning to feel that the arrhythmias are getting worse and it doesn’t matter what medication I try or what I do which is causing severe anxiety.

I don’t have sleep apnea, but I’ve been diagnosed and take medication for acid reflux.

[fairgo45 in reply to Debjimmay]

It's me that has the wellue 24 hour monitor and I use it twice a week.

Because it gives such in depth reporting I pretty much know what's going on but if I get an ecg of say a ventricular tachycardia epidpde I'll send the whole thing to my cardiologist and so far he's reassured me that it was artifact.

Overall he thinks the device is very clear and a useful device while your waiting for a hospital monitor

[Debjimmay in reply to fairgo45]

May I ask you what the total of your arrhythmias usually are in a 24 hr period? I have an average of 22,000 in 24 hrs with the highest being 36,000. I’ve printed out these reports out and showed them to my doctors, but they never seem very concerned about it.

I’m glad I have the 30 day halter monitor coming. I’m wondering if the results from the Holter monitor and the ECG recorder will be similar. It will be interesting to find out..

[Buzby62]

You can change the threshold for high and low heart rate alerts, I have mine set to 120 and 40 respectively. Go in to Watch app on the phone then in to “Heart” and scroll down.

Best wishes

PS. I don’t wear mine to sleep

[Debjimmay in reply to Buzby62]

Yes, I do have my Apple Watch set for high and low heart rate alerts. It will only give an alert if it’s beating at that rate for 10 minutes or more. I’m just stressed out that it’s beating that fast when I’m sleeping. To me it doesn’t seem normal that I would get three in one night. I’m worried going on and I’m hoping the halter monitor that the ordered will be able to see what’s going on.

[Peony4575]

Maybe you were having a bad dream . They can cause Adrenalin boosts

[Debjimmay in reply to Peony4575]

That’s possible as I have some pretty wild dreams sometimes. I’m just wondering why the Apple Watch never picked up the high BPMs before since I’ve been wearing one for years and I wear it to bed every night. I’m having terrible problems with arrhythmias lately, so I’m worried there may be something going on. I’m hoping the halter monitor will give us an idea of why I’m having so many issues right now.

[Buzby62 in reply to Debjimmay]

I believe the default high alert is set at 120bpm so my guess is that has been lowered at some time, maybe by accident or mistake. If on the default you wouldn’t get alerts for 111-114, hence my previous reply.

Best wishes

[Peony4575 in reply to Debjimmay]

I hope it does too . Arrythmia is very frightening and distracting

[OzJames]

most people can get ectopics regardless of whether they’ve had AF or not. I’ve woken up sweating after a bad dream and check my HR and it was over 100 my normal resting rate is around 55-60. I’d leave the watch on AF alert and maybe raise the HR alert to 115 so you can get some sleep. Continued disruptive sleep is known to raise your HR. Speak to your doctor and see what he/she thinks

[Debjimmay in reply to OzJames]

The high heart rate could very well be from not getting much sleep lately. I will also try raising the heart rate alerts a little higher although the alerts never woke me up. I didn’t find out until I looked at the report the next morning.

[MarkS]

Perhaps you should dump the apple watch if it's causing you to stress out. I found this when I was wearing a strap on heart monitor for cycling. Going up hills I was constantly looking at the readout and getting worried. I dumped it after one ride and I'm a lot more relaxed now. The holter monitor will give you everything you need to know.

[Debjimmay in reply to MarkS]

Hi Mark. I agree that the Apple Watch may be causing me stress but I have gotten so the only time I don’t have it on is when it’s charging. If it weren’t for my Apple Watch, I would’ve never known I had Afib. I think it would cause me more stress if I dumped my Apple Watch but I understand what you are saying.

[RussJun55 in reply to Debjimmay]

Just to suggest that you check to ensure that the watch fits securely to your wrist before turning in for the night. I've found that if the strap is at all loose, I can get some oddball readings.

[JezzaJezza]

As you have said you have the alerts set but are worried it may be regularly beating that fast overnight. If you go into the Apple Health app you can see your heart rate over the entire 24 hours, week and months. Obviously the further back you go it becomes more of a trend but it will still show spikes and when they occurred.

As others have said - this may well have been caused by dreaming .

Well done for wearing your watch overnight because the wealth of data it records is incredibly useful and can help you be informed on heart rate, breathing rate, blood oxygen and duration / quality of sleep.

Best wishes

Jezza

[Debjimmay in reply to JezzaJezza]

I didn’t realize you could go to the Apple health app and look over the results from weeks and months. I will check that out right now.

Yes, I love my Apple Watch and the only time it’s not on is when it’s charging. I have the Apple Watch 10 and I just read where the next Apple Watch coming out may have the blood pressure reading which I’ve been waiting for!

[Model52]

that’s a huge amount of PVC’s or PAC’s. It means that every beat in 4 is out of rhythm. Have you considered taking medication to resolve this situation? I hope you’re at least taking an anti-coagulant !

[Debjimmay in reply to Model52]

Thank you for your reply. I am taking 240 mg of Diltiazem and I’m also on Eliquis. My cardiologist tried to increase my Diltiazem but I had side effects and had to go down to 240 mg. These arrhythmias are starting to take a toll on me as I’m aware of every single one. I have constant fluttering and skipping. I also have pulsatile tinnitus, so not only do I feel these arrhythmias, I can hear hear them in my ear as white noise. An ablation has been recommended, but I’m terrified to have that done and seem to notice that a lot of people have to have the ablation done over and over. Right now I’m just not sure what to do.

[destiny234]

I downloaded Qaly after reading about it on here and paid the yearly subscription of £99, it is well worth it for piece of mind as i can just send off my ecg readings from my iwatch for a live diagnosis. It`s most reassuring.

[Debjimmay in reply to destiny234]

Thank you! I will check it out! 😊