Hypo and Apple iWatch 6

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I had depression, and the doctor concluded that I was "just depressed" and wrote out a prescription for anti-depressants.

I had bradycardia (slow pulse rate) and hypotension (low blood pressure) and Atrial Fibrillation - "fixed" with two pacemakers, three cardioversions and two catheter ablations.

I was able to diagnose the bradycardia and hypoxia (low blood oxygen, SPO2) with a pulse oximeter - so I got the right treatment and avoided the anti-depressants. My pulse oximeter is not compatible with my Apple computer, so I have not used it for about a decade.

Having lost 35kg, and now being at my target weight, I get a bit of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) when I walk several kilometres briskly a few days into a fast.

These three "hypos" have similar effects - making one feel faint or dizzy - so it would be nice to be able to self-diagnose. I feel faint before I feel breathless, and, I think, I sometimes get a combination of two or three of them - but my pulse rate and respiratory rate do go up when I walk.

When I was young and fit, a pulse rate of 30 was not a problem. When I got old, and had Atrial Fibrillation, it gave me a sleeping SPO2 of 75 - I was waking up paralysed from the eyelids down!

See the picture - now my Apple iWatch (series 6) and the Autosleep App give me "depth of sleep" (blue) Pulse rate (red) and SPO2 (squares).

My pulse rate is kept at or above 60 by my pacemaker, but the SPO2 dropped to 89 (the red square), which is sub-optimal.

The average SPO2 was 94.7 - just less than the 95 to 97 normal range for "normal people" but within the 93 to 97 range for those of us who are over 60.

I felt OK when I woke up today - but I suspect that my SPO2 will be lower on days when I wake up feeling rough.

I did an ECG today - and it told me that my pulse rate was 48 - but, looking at the trace, it is obviously about 60. The trace often takes a few seconds to stabilise, and a few of the pulses must now have been "good enough to count"?