Apple Watch

[SteM]

I’m looking to get an Apple Watch just wondered which is the best option taking performance and price in to account ?

[Buzby62]

Series 4 onwards have the ability to do ECG but none of the SE models do ECG. The current model is Series 10. If you pay extra for the cellular option then you need a mobile data plan also to go with it and that is only available from the main networks. My Series 6 (non cellular) is now 4.5 years old and the battery just about lasts a day and on charge at night so be wary of buying refurbished as I don’t believe the battery can be changed.

Link apple.com/uk/watch/compare/

Best wishes

[Hugheart]

Hi

I wear the series 7 with my older model iPhone ProMax 13 and in my opinion as a physician with AF I think it is great technology. Besides monitoring my EKG 3 to 4 times a day (30 sec each for total of 2 minutes) it has a feature which allows your IPhone to record your AF burden weekly without your awareness. Newer upgrades should do the same.

Hugheart

[JezzaJezza]

Hi get at least a series 7 or 8 or buy new and get series 10. Google Apple official refurbished and these have 70-100 off the price of brand new. They are not used but out of the box returns, are fully refurbished and still come with the 1 year full warranty.

When you have it, the app Qaly is excellent for analysing the ecg’s.

Best wishes

Jezza

[Dodgerguy]

Good morning, my doctor recommended I buy one and use the ECG each morning at breakfast. I use it more than suggested. I am an Apple person but don’t jump on a new series just because it comes out . If you’re buying the watch and don’t have one ( I assume you don’t ) I would go with the latest model. I say this because they release new models too often so you would be up to date. I bought the series 10 WiFi and toggled it to my iPhone 16. I love it and has been helpful.

[Ppiman]

Any watch beyond Series 3 works as well as any other with the ECG (and that is truly well!). If you go for a refurbished model (and I can recommend that), choose a Series 6 or beyond as the early models are slowly becoming unable to update with the latest software version.

Steve

[TootingBelle in reply to Ppiman]

Do we really want to spend our lives doing this? What is the real benefit?

[Ppiman in reply to TootingBelle]

Well, no one spends their life doing ECGs on their Apple Watch, of course. But the real benefit will, I suppose, depend on the individual (not that I can speak for others). The benefit for me is clear as, without my trusty Apple Watch, the symptoms I get from my LBBB would have remained unknown both to me and my doctor who, without the evidence, was putting it all down to my AF and atrial arrhythmias.

Btw, I thought only the monarch could use the "royal we"! "We are not amused!".

I am guessing that you would not gain from using a home ECG, but it's very clear from the sales of these things that very many do. I believe the Apple Watch to be a sterling piece of kit - so many uses and always to hand.

Steve

[TootingBelle in reply to Ppiman]

Understood. I’m a frustrated technophobe, apologies.

[Ppiman in reply to TootingBelle]

I am married to a technophobe, but Wendy is now very attached to her iPhone and Apple Watch having slowly mastered what they can do. She has no need of the ECG, lucky girl, but now has about eight years of health data showing her weight every time she has stood on her scales. In 2016 she was 9st 12lb, and last week was 9st 13lb - not bad for a 5'8"er!!

On the home ECG front, I think if the type of AF a person has is fully known and accepted by them, and is of the kind that never surprises, concerns or worries them, then an ECG is a waste of time. But for those whose arrhythmias create too many surprises with their sometimes frightening twists and turns, then a home ECG can be both medically useful and very comforting.

Another important possible use would be if I were taking an anti-arrhythmic drug such as flecainide, sotalol, digoxin or propafenone, all of which can, even if rarely, silently affect heart rhythm negatively and seriously. In that case, I would want immediate knowledge of the arrhythmia and only a home ECG is likely to pick it up. That could, without exaggeration, be life saving - and an Apple Watch is the one ECG that is always there and ready when needed to catch even fleeting changes.

Steve

[TootingBelle in reply to Ppiman]

Even using an oximeter triggers anxiety but perhaps I’ll start with a simple Kardia and see how it goes. Thank you. Yes, lucky Wendy.

[Ppiman in reply to TootingBelle]

Isn't she. Oximeters are often glitchy - well, that's my experience. Kardia will be fine for you. That said, the most stress free home ECG I have found over the years is not the Kardia, but the Contec PM20 (also sold as the Emay 6L - a more established brand in the UK). The Kardia far too often reported "Inconclusive" even when I paid the extra tenner a month. The new one gives a much wider range of readings and all without extra payment or fuss - and even without a phone app as it has its own screen.

Steve

[TootingBelle in reply to Ppiman]

That’s very useful, thanks.