Smart watches good but bad

Simple post.

So like us most I bought a smart watch to monitor my heart rate and all the other stuff like O2 rates, blood pressure.

Infact the smart watch monitors this all day and night and gives a lovely daily report showing highs and lows.

Sometimes the highs look alarmingly high and sometimes the lows look alarmingly low, and yet ( when I'm awake) I don't realise.

So you dwell on these highs and lows and it's useful but not healthy for the mind.

So my smart watch has now found a home in my daughters dolls house as a clock.

End of story.

[Lowerfield_no_more]

Mine is now tucked away in a drawer.

[Hidden in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Best place for them .

[Tos92]

When I initially got a smart watch, I quickly became obsessed with checking the daily reports and statistics that my health app on my iPhone would generate. I think about a year or so later, I stopped checking on a daily basis and now only check if I feel particularly unwell as it can make me feel nervous if I see that my HR has been too high or too low. Remember the watches are very sensitive to any type of movement pretty much so the results will not always be accurate. I have highs and lows without noticing and usually they are very quick and temporary spikes or lows in the HR so I try to not let that get me down anymore. Unless I’m symptomatic, or experiencing a new symptom then I would seek medical help.

I actually manage to go some days without wearing one now too. I’ve been wearing it for 2 years (upgraded in 2023) but because it’s connected to my iPhone, it can be a nuisance when I get all my notifications on the watch.

I hope you understand the watch is there just to provide some indication of your heart health. Any genuine concerns you may have should be taken up with your GP or cardiologist.

Tos

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

My husband who has heart disease, bought one of these smart watches.

He had a stent fitted 13 years ago, then developed atrial fibrillation ( I picked that up by feeling his pulse)

Last autumn I noticed he was slightly breathless, that was it.

All his stats on his smart watch were fine.

I sent him off to the Cardiologist.

Long story short, he had a second stent to his almost completely blocked artery in January.

At the moment he is using his smart watch to monitor his heart rate while he's doing his cardiac rehab.

I personally don't use any wearable devices. I'll check my BP and heart rate if I don't feel well.

I have learned over the years when I am having chest pain that needs checking.

When I go to A&E, I usually have dynamic ECG changes and I am admitted.

Smart watches can be helpful but can cause unnecessary anxiety too.

Perhaps better to learn to tune into your body itself ?

[Comfycousin1]

I love how the accuracy of them works... I can clock up 5k "steps" easily just sat knitting, watching TV of an evening. 😀C

[Deejay62 in reply to Comfycousin1]

😂😂

[IndieDot]

I agree they can cause anxiety. I continue to wear mine as I like to track my walking as I am on a weight loss mission to come off BP meds, however I have downloaded a new watch face to my Garmin device so it no longer shows my BPM. Checking that was what caused my anxiety. Everything is still recorded on the associated app so, as others have said, if I feel a bit rough I just check the app.

[Fanfab1]

any device can cause anxiety as it’s down to the user and how they approach the use of a smart watch or whatever the device may be - blood pressure monitor, thermometer, oximeter etc.

Anxiety is in the eye of the beholder to coin a phrase not the device.

👍

[Deejay62]

😂😂

[Manhattan1]

i must admit my apple watch is apparently pretty accurate when it comes to Heart rate.. i have a BP monitor to check my hypertension a few times a week and an oxymeter for both HR and oxygen levels mainly due to my asthma…. the HR on my watch nearly always matches up when i check it against BP monitor and the wee thing i put on my finger

[El-Tel1990]

That is a super short read. Well done.

[RumblingChest]

My smartwatch captured the evidence of rare PAF that led to an investigation that found the hole that had been there for 55 years that got fixed, the end.

Still on my wrist 😀.

[TasteLessFood4Life]

Another point - some smartwatches are fine when used under normal circumstances, but as soon as you use them in stressed/exercise environment - the margin of error increases substantially. So, unless you have a consistent whacky reading - I wouldnt be too bothered. It should be used as a tool, not gospel.

[PinkKizzie]

Hi baly_2023, I too had a smart watch but it was taking over my life as I was always checking. Now I only check my BP every day with a monitor and I'm happy with that. Stay well.

[Hiddynna]

Personally, I think they're pretty nifty gadgets, but like anything, there are pros and cons.

On the plus side, they can do a ton! Tracking your steps, heart rate, even sleep patterns - it's like having a mini health coach on your wrist. Plus, they look cool! But on the flip side, I get the concern about privacy and battery life. It's a trade-off for all that tech, I guess.

What do you guys think? Are you team smart watch or do you prefer to keep it old school? I'm leaning towards smart watches myself, but I do miss the simplicity of a regular watch sometimes.

Also, just a heads-up, if anyone's looking for cool watch stuff, check out this link: replicapatekphilippe.io. No pressure, just sharing some interesting watch vibes!

[DWizza]

Really like my garmin vivoactive 4s, have used trackers for training many years so well before my heart attack. The stats that are useful for me post heart attack are sleep, body battery . I aim for 90-100% recharge after a nights sleep, I know booze effects it and find it amazing if I have a couple of pints how my body battery doesn’t recover ! Step count and VO2 max . Blood pressure is a separate device. Obviously I use it for tracking walking, cycling (GPS) and other cardio activity /training.

[Snowflake01 in reply to DWizza]

I'm in the camp of them being useful if used appropriately. Mine is a Garmin Forerunner 255 and think they are a good brand if you are going to get / use one.

I like it for heart rate, sleep, stress levels, o2, steps etc, but knowing daft results helps - some how it recorded 3000 steps on the fifth day after my CABGx4 last week (so ignore that)!

On the positives side, it is quite clearly helping me to pace myself and understand how my body is struggling at the moment post op (e.g. trying to get some 'body battery' levels back to pre-op level).

I'll carry on using it to monitor my recovery, but I am used to understanding it, making me bias to keeping it out of room 101!!