Fossil smart watch compatibility with pacemaker /ICD device

[Spetses]

Husband has been bought a Fossil smart watch ,but I am a little concerned if it will affect his pacemaker /ICD we are unable to ask our cardiologist until March ,so I'm just wondering if anyone else with these implants use one .Any advice appreciated

[SpiritoftheFloyd]

Yes I've got a watch/fitness tracker and I have an ICD - it tells the time/records heart rate, steps covered, and provides a breakdown of sleep among other things. It's on my wrist and does not have any impact on my ICD

[Spetses in reply to SpiritoftheFloyd]

Thank you

[NorthantsSteve]

Hi. I don’t know about fossil watches but I have a Fitbit with a couple of flashing LED lights on the back. They shine onto the skin and a mirror in the back of the watch measures how the capillaries expand and contract. And from that it works out heart rate. If yours is the same then it won’t have any bearing on ICD etc.

[Lezzers]

My husband has an ICD & he wears a fitbit, his nurse was fine about it

[siouxbee19]

They have no effect on those devices, I've worn several over time with no problem. As a matter of fact, the Fitbit I am currently wearing, was given to me as part of a heart study of people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and effects of exercise! Many people with HCM have an ICD, so I am sure they are well aware there are no problems.

[Spetses in reply to siouxbee19]

Thank you thats a great help

[3Squirrels]

Hi, I also wear a Fitbit versa watch on my wrist and I have an ICD. It doesn’t seem to affect my device at all. If I’m honest I find it very reassuring to be able to check and record my heart rate. When I was first having symptoms my Fitbit daily resting heart rate trace helped me to show the doctors that I had a problem!

[Spetses in reply to 3Squirrels]

Thank you I hope it helps us to feel reassured in time

[12345pink]

I have a Fitbit watch (not sure what a fossil smart watch is. I’ve worn it since last October. I had a pacemaker put in in May and I was told by pacemaker team that I could wear it. Only thing that the Dr who programmed my pacemaker said to me that the Fitbit wouldn’t read the same as the pacemaker by only a couple of numbers. My pacemaker is programmed to go not below 60 and Fitbit does show it’s 58 but that’s. Otho got.

[Spetses in reply to 12345pink]

Thank you that is reassuring

[siouxbee19 in reply to 12345pink]

That's a very good point! I was concerned about readings from another tracker I wore, and my clinic explained that trackers might detect and record a slow or fast beat that is perfectly benign, nothing to worry about, that the ICD/pacemaker is the definitive device and would deliver therapy if needed.

In other words, trackers are good tools to use for our health, but not 100% accurate regarding heart readings.

On the flip side, I had a home Omron blood pressure cuff that detected ventricular tachycardia, when an implanted, worn two years Reveal monitor showed nothing harmful.

Was it I just didn't have any bad arrhythmias in that two years time, and all the stars aligned to be able to detect the VT at the exact moment I was taking my home blood pressure? Not sure, but thankfully I already had an ICD/pacemaker @ that time, so I went to clinic, they did an interrogation, and sure enough, I had an episode of ventricular tachycardia.

So they are good tools to have, listening to your body is even better, and opting for a device (if suggested or urged by your doctor) is the best option, in my personal opinion.

Best wishes to all...😀

[Alison_L]

I use a Polar watch & chest strap, which are fine with my ICD.