I know this may have been asked many times but I’m interested to know, those of you with Apple watches, what’s the verdict? I was diagnosed with AFIB in April this year, (2023) cardio verted in May, went back to the gym in June/July & went back into AFIB which then turned to brady/tachy with ectopics and pauses of 5.7 seconds. Was fitted with a pacemaker on 19th October.
I am hoping to get back to the gym & mostly running (on the treadmill) which is my passion, after my six week check of course! My problem is that I am ‘all or nothing’I am either zero or 100. I don’t know how to build up gradually! I know I will have to learn but I was wondering if an Apple Watch or Fitbit might help with monitoring my heart rate so I don’t go over my max heart rate.
Any advise greatly appreciated!
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Wales99
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I’ve had an Apple Watch for almost 2 years. I have personally found it very beneficial as it sends you notifications on when your high rate is too high, low, and when you’re in episodes of AFib as you describe. It also records workouts and automatically detects when I’m on a walk for example.
Although it is not 100% accurate as it is only a wrist device, I find it to be a good indicator to monitor heart rate and work out trends and patterns. I am then able to present this information to my cardiologist which gives them an insight on how my heart maybe behaving.
I upgraded to the series 8 last year, which is the latest Apple Watch as it has an ECG feature. When I feel like I am having intense episodes of chest pain and abnormal arrhythmia, I take an ECG using the watch which is very simple. Again, it does not replace the official medical equipment used at hospitals to conduct ECGs, but can be good information to present to your cardiologist.
Overall, I feel the benefits outweigh the cons with an Apple Watch, so I would recommend it. Alternatively, there are more affordable brands such as the Fitbit.
Definitely YES! I have had an Apple Watch for about five years and wouldn’t be without it as far as keeping an eye on my heart rate which is constantly varying even though I now have a Pacemaker for Tachy/Brady. You can run an ECG whenever you think you may have a problem, too. Only problem I have with an Apple Watch is that I am allergic to the wrist band so had to change mine to a stainless steel wrist band.
Hi. I have been using Fitbit (charge 4 then charge 5) since I had my bypass a few years ago and I am a big fan of them. They may not the be the most accurate and they don't have as many functions as the apple but I have found them very useful and reliable. They are also good for wearing under boxing gloves which other fitness trackers I have tried have issues with!
Funnily enough I have just been reading about the Fitbit Charge 5. Seems to be a good less expensive option. Does it let you know if your heart rate goes up too high when exercising?
I beleive so but not used that function. It measures your heart rate when exercising and depending how fast its beating will say you are in a fat burning, cardio or peak zone. I beleive you can set custom zones though if you want to keep you heart rate from going over a specific rate. I find the charge 5 good as a general fitness tracker if you do multiple different exercises, I use it for walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, yoga and boxing and it works well for all those (although it terrible at tracking swimming distance!).
I use a Garmin Fenix 6. I bought it for swimming, both open water and in the pool, but there's loads of other sports it supports. I find the HR monitor pretty accurate too, I've checked it against the rate shown against the stuff the hospital use.
Hi I would recommend the Apple Watch you can keep an eye on all your training which is good for me and I love my spin classes but like to keep an eye on my heart rate 👍 good luck with your training
I’ve just purchased the Fitbit charge 6 which has the heart monitor, ECG and the reporting aspect of informing me when my heart rate drops below 50 or 45. Reports that can be printed off to show doctor, as well all this…I have my heart monitor as the main feature so it quick to glance at …works with all exercises and monitors every type of exercise along with heart readings .. I have mine in alarm if I go too high or too low so I know I have to ease off and behave.
I did try to use my Apple Watch but it was a nuisance to set up and then a nuisance to use since I live in an area with intermittent WiFi, blue tooth, network services. The Fitbit worked right though these issues and works fine without having to reconfigure every time. The new charge is excellent as stated above due to the new ECG heart monitoring
However, my niece and nephew who live and work in a city and a town had no issues so us simple country folk who don’t have broad band or a reliable service provider need to look at fitbit 😂❤️
I fell off some scaffolding and ended up hanging upside down with my foot trapped. My Apple Watch was brilliant. I was able to phone for help. It was amusing, embarrassing and could have been quite nasty. Never take the thing off except to charge it now.
I had a couple of FitBits, but ended up with problems with them not syncing to my phone. Changed to an Apple Watch two years ago, and was very grateful as after a couple of months it detected AFib. (Just the basic model, so no ECG.)
I don’t tend to wear it overnight as I charge it then and it’s more clunky, so that’s one part where the Fitbit worked better.
I just do gentler exercise though - walking and Pilates, so can’t speak from a gym point of view. I find it useful to check that the rate isn’t leaping about too much when I walk uphill - as I’m now in permanent AFib. Being on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to wanting to exercise, I find that filling in the move and activity rings is a useful goal for me. Just to make sure that I get at least thirty minutes exercise and keep active throughout the day.
A Kardia would be the best option with an Apple Watch in second place. My experience with Fitbits has been pretty bad. I returned one recently because it’s measuring of my basic heart rate bore no resemblance whatsoever to what it actually was. It even gave a heart rate when I wasn’t wearing the watch. I returned an earlier Fitbit because it showed I had woken up 30 times during the night.
I have a pacemaker and is set to a minimum of 70 beats per min. My Apple Watch picks this up exactly and is great at tracking my heart rate while walking or in the gym.
I was given an Apple Watch as part of a research study into AF following ablation. On follow up appointments after ablation they were happy to accept the Apple Watch ECG as well. I then ended up having a CABG and at cardiac rehab anyone with the watch could monitor their heart rate with it instead of the staff manually taking pulse. When I have to hand my watch back I will definitely be buying one for myself. I feel that although this does not replace the medical equipment like 12 lead ECG and a manual pulse etc, if the medical profession are using these readings they can’t be all bad or totally inaccurate I feel they have real value.
Hi I got a pacemaker fitted June this year due to situational syncope and I have an Apple Watch which has been brilliant at recording my heart rate, especially when I’m out running. it also picked up an episode of atrial tachycardia/flutter which lasted 90 mins which was confirmed the next day when I sent a pacemaker ECG reading via my Medtronic hub to my local pacing clinic. So I’m really happy with my watch😊
I have had an apple watch with ECG for many years now and it is invaluable for me. It constantly monitors your heart rate over time. It also provides other aspects of your heart and what it gets up to. Blood oxygen level, cardio fitness, ecg, heart rate, heart rate variability, low heart rate, resting heart rate and walking heart rate. So, it's not just ecg, the data is stored over time and trends can be viewed or printed.
I gave up on all wrist devices after doing research into their accuracy. I personally use a Polar H10 ECG chest strap for all my training monitoring. You can also wear it throughout the day for monitoring. There are also apps for ECG function.
I’ve had a Fitbit for many years and it’s good at measuring your heart rate when sleeping and not exercising. I’m a cyclist (56 heart attack 18 months ago) and a bit like you, all or nothing. But I don’t find the Fitbit at all accurate when exercising, I use a chest monitor(wahoo) much more accurate. The Fitbit over estimates my HR by about 10% sometimes which is annoying. Although I have beta blockers as my rev limiter, my HR won’t go above 155 now. If I stop taking them for a day or so then I can go to 170 🫣
I’m seriously thinking of swapping to the Apple Watch but will still use the chest monitor when I’m walking or cycling
Definitely yes to the Apple Watch for me. I’m not obsessed about checking it but I find it reassuring that I can get my heart rate or instant ecg whenever I want to. My readings have always seemed accurate when compared with other devices but there is one caveat: just occasionally it will show a massive but momentary spike in heart rate. I’m not sure what causes this but I just ignore it unless it is more than momentary. And it only happens very occasionally.
Absolutely! I check my numbers occasionally at the doctor's office against their reading, it's always right on target. True story - recently purchased a new Apple watch with the oxygen reading. Called my pulmonologist and asked if they should be that low at night. Absolutely not. I'm now on night oxygen after the official overnight test which gave the same numbers. It was surprising to me and the doc. I feel a lot better, and never in a million years would have thought my oxygen was going down so low at night only.
It was in the 80's. I also have mild pulmonary hypertension and this is the main reason I got the latest version of the watch so I wouldn't have to use the finger oximeter so often. During the day my oxygen is fine, only goes low at night and if it weren't for the watch I would never have known. I did the official overnight reading finger oximeter test and the numbers were the same as had been reading on my watch. I'm now on 2 liters of oxygen, night only. Good Luck and I hope this helps!
If the rumour mill is to be believed Apple Watches are due a step change next year after many years of small (tiny) improvements.
I’ve decided to wait as the Ultra, which has the stuff we are interested in, is too chunky for me and I fear it will be an expensive paperweight if I buy the current offering.
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