Recommendations please

[Sorcha1973]

Can any point me in the direction of a cardio watch please. I’ve been advised to buy one.

[Orangepeel60]

Hi, I use a Garmin Fenix 5. It has GPS and all of the functions you could want. I have found with all the fitness watches and I have tried a few, that they all work better with a chest worn strap. I don’t wear the strap all the time but I was advised by my Cardiologist to stop pushing my heart to its max and with a strap you get a true reading.

I also liked my Fitbit and TomTom worked well. For me the Garmin was best as a cyclist.

They are not cheap and you do get what you pay for.

Hope that has helped a bit

[Hidden]

Depends on what you want to use it for. I use Apple Watch and have checked it against my chestband heart rate monitor on my exercise bike and against a digital blood pressure/heart rate monitor and all very close. I use the Apple because it has other useful things for fitness and integrates with my diet app etc. Not sure in UK by in USA they have turned on single wire ECG functionality as well. If you can give a bit more info about what you want to use it for (gym, walking etc) I can provide some more feedback.

[Phil_London]

Hi, I have had three, looking for one that was reliable for heart rate, I started with the Galaxy 46mm watch, no ban and looks good also but some inaccuracies inr when in excersise us and I wanted accuracy as I was watching my HR after a stent. I upgraded to the new samsung active 2 and very nice to look at and is suppose to have ECG ability later this year but I was told for real accuracy the Garmin is the best which I bought and find it great,, for best value I opted for the 245 Music, you can play music downloaded to your watch without needing your phone, if your into that and excersise. main reason was the sensor for all the statistics and HR is the same as used in the expensive Garmins costing £600 + where as the 245 Music is £300. Sorry I researched a lot to get what I really needed, but alas, I now have 3!! but use the Garmin all the time now. they do say the new apple is good but I am not a big apple fan.

[Sorcha1973 in reply to Phil_London]

I had 2 stents on Monday. After 2 heart attacks. A week ago today. I’m not a fitness kind of person but I will be doing my walking in time. It’s just for my heart rate as I’m a very anxious person. I was advised to buy one of these. Thanks

[Munkyboy]

Went for the suunto 9 as it's on offer and does everything I want it to do. Otherwise I'd have gone for the garmin fenix 5.

[fixedrider]

I agree with CardiacManOz - we need to know a little about what you want it for. Assuming that you mean what is often called a "fitness watch", try Googling. However, they range from basic models, which will normally use optical sensors on the back of the watch to monitor your pulse, to high-end ones that integrate with all sorts of other devices and are used for serious physical training in various sports. I'd say that one major consideration is whether this is for any kind of training. If so, you probably want one that will connect to an external heart-rate monitor on a chest band, because those are more accurate than wrist sensors, especially during significant exercise.

But that's just an example of why you might choose one model or another. A second example consideration is that I'm a cyclist, and I was already using a Garmin handlebar GPS. So it was easier to stay with a Garmin watch because I can use everything together, as well as the Garmin Connect Web software to look at all the records that these devices are producing.

Basic watches with wrist sensors can be quite inexpensive. I started with one basic Garmin model, and am now using a Fenix 5, like Orangepeel60, because I discovered the hard way that not everything works with that chest band!

[Sorcha1973 in reply to fixedrider]

I will not be running any marathons in the future. I guess it just for my peace of mind as I only got my stents in on Monday and returned home yesterday and I’m feeling very vulnerable. When the time is right I will be walking but I’m no fitness kind of person. Thanks

[Sorcha1973 in reply to fixedrider]

Also I have a iPhone and iPad. Thanks

[Mikedabike]

I use a Garmin Instinct watch. It is rugged, very versatile and reasonably priced for what it does. As other contributors have pointed out, the only way to get a reliable reading is with a chest strap. However nobody wants to wear a chest strap all day.. it doesn’t matter what make the watch is, without a chest strap, all watches (no matter what make) suffer from inaccuracies when using optical sensors. With mine I have found the readings to be more reliable when I wear the watch facing inwards on my wrist. Just a personal observation, prior to my valve replacement, I only wore it when cycling and hiking. I now wear it all the time, even in bed. It just gives me a rough guide as to how I am doing, and of course it is very useful for monitoring my heart rate when exercising.

[Sorcha1973 in reply to Mikedabike]

Yes it’s just for my peace of mind. I’ll not be doing any major excerises in the future. Just my walking. I have apple products at home. Thanks

[Phil_London]

It is a good point, I should have asked before I garbled on, it's all about what you want from the watch, all those suggested have great write up, Fennix, Instinct, The Sunto, let us know what you want from it and I am sure someone can give some advise, budget is af course the first question. Good luck.

[Sorcha1973 in reply to Phil_London]

I will not be running any marathons in the future. I guess it just for my peace of mind as I only got my stents in on Monday and returned home yesterday and I’m feeling very vulnerable. When the time is right I will be walking but I’m no fitness kind of person. I do have iPhones and iPads Thanks

[mica35]

Hi

I was in the O2 shop the other week and one of the assistants was telling me about the Apple watch, apparently it monitors your heart rate and if your heart stops it automatically dials 999 and the GPS guides the Ambulance to your location. I will definitely be buying one when I can afford it, right now on sick pay because of my diagnosis!!!

Good luck and stay safe

[Sorcha1973 in reply to mica35]

I just want 1 for peace of mind. I’ve had my stents in on Monday. so I hope to make a ful recovery as I’m only 46. Thanks

[mica35 in reply to Sorcha1973]

The same here. The lad I spoke to knew of a man who had collapsed and by the time his son found out about his Dad's issue, he was being trested in hospital. I am on my own the greater part of the day so for peace of mind I would love this watch

[seasider18]

Did your medical advisors recommend it ?

[Sorcha1973 in reply to seasider18]

No a friend who is the same age as me and like me had no idea until he phoned 999. I’m going to just get a basic heart rate one. As I think to much information can cause much anxiety too. Xx

[seasider18 in reply to Sorcha1973]

I have had a BP monitor for twenty years but avoid other devices although I'm in permanent AF.

[Alison_L]

My cardiac rehab physio suggested I get a Polar watch. I have the A370 watch and the H10 chest strap for when I'm in the gym (haven't used that this week!). The watch seems to give a fairly accurate heart rate - ie it more or less agrees with when my ICD pacemaker has kicked in!

[Hidden]

I just bought an Apple Watch 3 wks ago, and I love it.

I like that it’s iPhone oriented, as all the app functionality means I don’t over- focus on HR. I didn’t get GPS, so it won’t phone 999 for me. But it apparently has an ECG function (not tried yet, but wanted this as I get ectopic beats & flutters and once had a nasty atrial fibrillation)

Pros (for me) -

Looks nice. Sport band is practical but not ugly. Can choose watch “face” (I like digital with Move rings showing, see below). Has World time. Water resistant, survives shower & swimming.

“Breathe” function - prompts me occasionally to do 1 minute of deep breathing. Really relaxes me & reduces HR. If I can’t sleep, I run it a couple times. Love this.

Move/ Stand up / Exercise bars (rings) that fill up if I’m being a bit active, so it’s a gentle reminder to do so!

Workout options are simple to use, I’ve timed walks & swims so far. Love seeing rough heart rate (eg average, max, current, resting, little graph of HR during workout). Useful as I’m trying to keep Hr below 120 whilst I recover from pericarditis. If it goes a bit high, I can rest & see when it’s dropped enough to restart. Heart rate very similar to that advised by in-ear HR monitor of my headphones, & watch is on more often than they are.

Do Not Disturb setting for overnight. Slight light from the face helps me see a bit at night going to loo !. Torch & strobe also. Links to Bluetooth headphones. Has Siri.

Basically, it’s more like a mini iPhone on your wrist, than like a watch, or heart monitor. For me this is 💓!

Cons

Slight light from the face annoys my spouse some nights!

Needs charging daily (£2 coin sized magnetic charger). Haven’t figured all the beeps yet & some annoy me, but I expect they’re configurable.

Can read emails but not figured out if / how I can reply yet. Viewed a web page ok & used finger to draw letters to input a password - latter a bit clunky but worked. If doing much on web/mail, I’d get out phone, but at times that’d be rude - then the watch is quite discreet.

When I’m working out, I still use a richer exercise App on my phone as well. Not sure watch swim distance is very accurate, but walk distance similar to phone exercise App. But the watch is simple, always on my wrist & doesn’t need carrying or “starting” to measure HR. I’m learning more about my heart as a result, eg on holiday, my heart rate was always about 10bpm higher than normal, I think due to the heat.

My main tip - go with what you “like” & will enjoy using, so the functions get used & there’s no negative feeling.

Good luck with your recovery.

[Sorcha1973 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for this. Wishing you a safe recovery. It’s a nervous time.