I am thinking about a smart watch mainly to keep an eye on Blood Pressure and pulse when out walking. It is a minefield with prices from £20 to £200 , I wouldnt trust a cheap one with B/P. Does anyone have experience of such things.?
Smart watch: I am thinking about a... - British Heart Fou...
Smart watch
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greenba
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I have one, recently purchased, it's made by Hunters (London). Ideally I wanted a hybrid smart watch, so looks more like traditional watch than a mini monitor on my wrist. Tbh I only use a few features on it, as don't wanna be a slave to the stats it can give me, and I never fully trust what a smart device tells me anyway. I wanted one for sleep monitoring, as have insomnia...the data merely confirms how poor my sleep is, after decades of bad sleep its gonna take drastic measures to change that!
Sorry if not helpful, just sharing my thoughts/experience.
I have an Apple Watch to monitor my heart rate but it doesn’t do blood pressure checks. I find it very useful and reasonably accurate. I’m not sure if any of them actually take your blood pressure . Apple Watch will also run an ECG for you.
I too bought an Apple 9 watch. It can do an ECG and blood saturation and Beats per Min but it has the added attraction of calling for help and telling people where I am if I have a hard fall. As you say it does not do BP. It is paired with my iphone and I can even take and make phonecalls from it Monitors sleep and exercise. I love it. I believe the ECG is pretty accurate. I also have a Kardia and they seem to agree with each other.
And the function where it calls for help certainly works! I’ve fallen (tripped over, actually) on two occasions when it has dialled 999.
I am Very pleased to hear it although sorry that you had cause to use that function not once but twice!
I did silly things like trip over my outside drain with both hands full of plants to plant in the garden! The first time it happened was when I was putting out my weelie bin and I slipped on the moss on my steep driveway . Luckily I was OK but could have been nasty.
Now you get a series of Messages to run through and reply to before they send an ambulance but when I first had my watch it dialled 999 and you were answered by an operator. If you live on your own like I do then it’s very reassuring to have this facility on my watch.
Absolutely. It is reassuring that it will ring my husband and my neighbour and they know that I have fallen and where I am. I am often out of sight at the bottom of the garden 🪴. I presume if no response from them then 999.
No, if it detects a heavy fall it automatically dials 999 and not other numbers.
Very reassuring. Mind you I had to wait 15hours for an ambulance to take me to A&E the other day. I was not very urgent. GP told me to phone 999 at noon and it arrived 3am. Hospital on trolley in corridor until discharged at noon the next day after a number of tests and x-ray.
a Fitbit is very accurate on pulse.
But, why would you want to take your blood pressure when you are walking? It’s going to be high - because otherwise you wouldn’t be able to walk. If your pressure is normally, say, 120/80 this is when you’ve rested for ten minutes and that’s what all the stats about blood pressure are based on. If you are walking uphill you are breathing hard to get oxygen to your muscles, and blood pressure is high to get other nutrients to the cells of your body.
Further information about blood pressure on the website of Blood Pressure UK, the specialist charity.
I would want to know my BP when walking as mine was dropping to the point of collapse whilst walking.
could it be that it’s your pulse rate dropping and not your blood pressure? This could cause the near collapse experience that you describe. Just a suggestion….
People have mixed views about smart watches, as shown in this recent post.
healthunlocked.com/bhf/post...
The cheapest smart watches are now in the £ 45 range. I use mine to tell the time and reassure me that I am not yet dead. It seems reliable in both cases.
Tavishock
The Samsung Galaxy watch measures blood pressure, blood oxygen level, stress sleep, heart rate, ECG and steps etc.
Everything seems reasonably accurate, but I wouldn't trust my life on the BP reading, it's more of an indication.
I have one too and find it most useful in monitoring my AF.
Hi Mydog8it
Is there only one Samsung Galaxy watch and does it measure steps please I was hoping to find something that measured steps and observations? However rapidly being put off by these posts except yours. Thank you.
Vajrahara, Samsung tend to bring out a new version each year, the latest is the Galaxy Watch 6.... I have the Galaxy Watch 4 and its good enough for me at the moment. From Watch 4 onwards they all measure steps and activity along with blood pressure etc.
Thank you Mydog8it I have also just noticed on catch up a BBC radio 4 programme “Sliced Bread” released on 29/2/24 where the presenter checks out the reliability of multiple watches at Loughborough University with the Senior research associate in digital health for lifestyle - I will listen to this before making a decision thank you for your help.
Have a Samsung Galaxy watch 6.
In general it is OK, but the heartbeat can sometimes spike quite high when doing heavier exercise. Have used the Blood pressure feature a few times, which the first time needs calibrating and checking with a cuff machine - it is surprisingly accurate. But only use it occasionally to check rest blood pressure.
I find the sleep monitor to be quite useful feature for me.
I have the Samsung watch 4 for some time. The blood pressure is very accurate when it works .... same for the heart monitor and 02 levels.However for the blood pressure you have to remain still, so no good when your walking.
The ecg is the equivalent of a single lead.
The watch is good but it can also become very obsessive if your not careful.
I have a Fitbit Versa 4 ..its accurate on pulse but I wouldn't trust the BP! Its a handy tool but doesn't replace proper medical equipment. It motivates me more than anything to exercise!
I invested in a Garmin which also measures oxygen sats. However I soon realised it was taking over my life - I became obsessed, constantly checking sats level and heart rate. Best thing I ever did was chuck it in a drawer where it has languished ever since. My cardiologist also told me these smart watches are not medical grade, and can give inaccurate readings. I know they are very popular, but not for me.
Hi I have a Samsung one it's brilliant
I have one pulse is pretty accurate. Blood pressure and oxygen saturations are not accurate. I know this because I have used a pulse oximeter and a blood pressure machine at the same time, the results were not accurate. I have tested this hypothesis out on myself and others many times. As a cardiac patient it is vital for me to get accurate results. I don't trust fit but.
I too have a samsung smart watch....TBH find it pretty accurate for day to day checking, plenty apps to download and monitor....only time watch struggles, is when I ever have an AF episode, seems to struggle when HR is high and erratic. Certainly good for normal day to day...
Hiya. I have heard that these watches have been known to affect your heart beat. Personally I would not bother and keep well clear. But that's just me. I have a pacemaker.
I have Garmin which is excellent but they are expensive. My wife has a Fitbit 5 which is also very good and much cheaper
I am not aware of any that check blood pressure though, not sure how they would when you consider how they take blood pressure
I have used heart rate monitors for years as I was a competitive cyclist.The only accurate ones I've found are the ones with chest strap and wrist watch type.
The wrist watch only type I've found is not consistent enough to take proper readings.
I only measure BP at rest.
I've just bought a Google pixel10. I wanted to set an alarm on my heart rate when exercising to keep within a certain threshold, It does an ecg , but not blood pressure.
As you can see everyone will have a favourite option.The truth is that it depends on what you want to your watch for.
If it's to keep track of your heart rate and approximate oxygen stats while exercising, each watch is much the same , even cheaper brands.
If you are using it for blood pressure, this is a different story.
Blood pressure readings on watches are worked out from algorithms based on the average healthy human and calculated from the heart rate readings it gets alongside it's evaluation of your physical activity.
This means that for people with certain health conditions , particularly things like Tachycardia, Bradycardia, aFib and certain types of cardiac and blood pressure problems the blood pressure readings you get on any Smartwatch, no matter how well thought of, are not considered as accurate. This has been proved with Medical Research of Smart Devices.
As yet , medical research suggests that the technology isn't there yet in giving a continuous and accurate BP reading for those with health issues and that they still need to recheck any results they get with a BP monitor Cuff reading and should not rely on watch readings for making decisions.
I can certainly attest to that , I have a Tachycardia issue and normal to low blood pressure. I have a good budget Smartwatch to keep track of my heart rate , it's necessary so I know when to rest and breathe during activities in the hope of preventing a trigger for aFib or fainting . I've also trialled both my daughter's new Apple and my husband's Samsung. All three watches are equally good at reading my heart rate , and all three watches give similarly overestimated readings of my BP.
I can be walking slowly but will have a HR over 140bpm or even sitting with a HR over 100 and the watches will inevitably state a high or hypertensive BP , because that is what would be happening potentially to the average person. Yet, checking on the BP monitor my blood pressure will still be 110/70 or even lower. So , not really a great guide for making decisions about what I should do.
I have a walking friend with Orthostatic Hypotension, he has the same issue , his heart rate can appear high to normal but he can drop into hypotension during that and still risk fainting. He takes his BP monitor in his rucksack just in case and keeps a close mind on how he is feeling , or if symptoms are beginning instead. We both have to rely on drinking water regularly while exercising to reduce our symptom risks.
In fact , I found the same issue with them tracking my sleep for similar reasons which I find quite amusing. My high daily heart rate makes each watch assume that I go to sleep an hour after I do and wake up an hour before I wake up. As my Tachycardia causes me chronic insomnia and I only usually manage 3-4 hours of sleep a night , my watch judges that I may only sleep for 2 and you can guess how many alerts and warnings that gives me if I don't turn them off!
So , when it comes to watches I'd say , get one but a well reviewed basic model unless you are buying it for reasons other than just wanting a health monitor. Watches are great in helping you monitor your heart rate and help track your activity and METs . They can help you manage your pace through the day , balance when to rest and when to get going and help you build up your physical activity.
But they can't give you an accurate BP reading so shouldn't be relied upon for making medical choices or judging when you should rest or take a pill from that perspective. I did find Apple watches and Fitbit overestimate step count ( I've tested a few over the years as part of medical research , ironically, one study was about step count).
If , of course , a person is in good average health the accuracy of the BP readings may be more relevant.
Hope that helps , Bee
That's interesting!I bought a Samsung Galaxy 6 watch about a week ago,I took my BP reading from it and it was 114/71(my BP is always at the lower end of the normal range).Immediately afterwards I took a cuff reading,it was 105/67, quite a discrepancy,so you are 100% correct,don't rely on a smart watch to give an accurate reading.
Hi .I've tried a few . There's a few do bp but I find them all to differ from cuff readings. BP can change minute to minute so hard to say exactly . I found bp readings roughly varied around 20points from the hospital BP testers with cuff. Prob not good enough to be any real use imo. The only thing they really do well is single lead tests pulse and ECG. I found even the oxygen can vary by a couple of points from hospital sats
I have an Apple Watch, which does Hr, oxy says, and ecg, but not BP, reading the previous comments I guess that’s why my apple doesn’t do BP. I have to say it is pretty accurate on what it can do, and as some one who has suffered with heart issues has actually been reassuring, especially when I was in recovery. I could actually see on my ecg, the sinus rhythm t wave re verting to normal slowly over time. I wouldn’t be without it now. I still use a BP monitor for my BP which can be high and is managed by meds.
I suggest that a read of this article may be helpful to anybody who is concerned:
bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...
It would seem that the unproven concern relates to smart devices that use Bioimpedance. AFAIK, some Fitbits use this technology but Apple Watches do not. That said, straps that use bioimpedance can be bought to work with the Apple Watch Health App (Aura 2).
I have a glaxay 6, BP seems fairly accurate, use it to check pulse rate when exercising and ecg check occasionally. Useful to pick up text msg sand comfortable to wear.
I have an Aktiia wrist band and arm cuff. It monitors BP when you're still for a few minutes, and quietly takes several readings through out the day then reports through the smartphone app.
I don't know of a system that will passively monitor BP while active, usually BP goes up when active and you've also got the venous return from your muscles so never get a true reading of how hard your heart's working.
My Samsung Galaxy watch will take BP on demand, I haven't done it while active though. All of these devices must be calibrated against a cuff periodically.
The Fourth Frontier or Wellue chest strap will monitor ECG, HR, heart strain and breathing rate while active, not BP though.
I have the Aktiia too. I like that you basically just forget about it when it’s on your wrist and it takes readings throughout the day..but some days it hardly takes any and you have to be really still.
I am a keyboard warrior so my arms are moving all the time (even if the rest of me isn’t) so less likely to get readings whilst at work.
It would be nice if you could take a spot measurement with just the wrist device, but sadly not possible.
It is classed as a medical device and accurate within an acceptable tolerance. It always seems a little low compared to when they have taken it at the hospital..but perhaps thats just because I am less relaxed.
Apple Watch for BP and it seems to be accurate to within a couple of beats even compared to a 6 or 12 lead monitor. Very impressive
I thought mine was reading a bit low versus GP reading so I took a few with the Aktiia cuff and another cuff I had before I had the Aktiia and it is accurate. As is my Galaxy watch as long as the calibration is up to date.
Wearables are amazing these days. I have a lot of PVCs so I also have a Fourth Frontier chest strap for ECG. The reports are fab - % other rhythm, HRV, breaths, heart strain, body shock and an ECG trace you can review. It is sensitive to noise so being able to identify that on a trace is useful, sometimes the % other rhythm and heart strain are higher than they should be.
I have a Fitbit and works fine. Downside is it needs to be synched to your smartphone which takes time and effort. I was daft enough to believe I could just wear the watch and that was it, but you can’t use the thing without connecting to your phone every time you use it which is a pain. As a consequence I wear it less than I want to 😕
Apple Watch. One of the best purchases I’ve ever made. Oxygen feature has been a life-saver for me.
To be honest I don't know if there is a watch that takes your blood pressure while your walking. My Samsung certainly doesn't. it has pulse, BP O2 and ECG but only pulse records constantly. For everything else you have to be very still to get a good reading.
I have a Samsung smart watch that does heart rate, ECG and blood pressure. Since having it, it has recorded AF which I got checked by my cardiologist. He reassured me it wasn't true AF but sinus tachycardia instead. So the watch picked up an irregularity but not true AF.
It also picked up high blood pressure. This was 100% correct. I double checked my reading with doing also on my BP monitor/ at the pharmacy and my cardiologist and all came out the same. I've now been put on a blood pressure tablet.
So overall I think the watches are brilliant but don't treat them as gospel and don't become obsessed.
If one highlights an issue , get it checked out by a professional.
I have a Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and it is great. I use it for sleep, steps and it is invaluable in tracking my intermittent AF. I show the ECG info to my doctor and he has said that it has saved me having to wait for a heart monitor etc. It is also a good watch and you can monitor emails etc. Its not cheap (£200+) but I wouldn't be without it now.
I’ve got an apple diving watch. Checks heart rate, all sorts of stuff whilst exercising, route, speed- complete and split speeds, heart rate- low, high and average, elevation . HR average over last week so since starting exercise gone from 68. Very useful for the doctor. Sleep patterns and blood oxygen levels. It’s totally waterproof as well so I can wear it on vacation. It’s expensive but worth it so you a record all your stats.
I sold my smart watch, it was making me paranoid, telling me I only had such and such sleep and other things. Would not buy another one. I have a portable EMay heart monitor, that will record your heart tracings, which you can put on your phone, to show Doctors, if you only have occasional heartbeat problems and also a blood pressure monitor, so you can keep an eye on your blood pressure, occasionally.
I hated wearing watches, so I just got a reasonably cheap FitBit. All I wanted was to keep track of my heart-rate during Cardiac Rehab, but I find the sleep statistics quite interesting. Apparently I sleep like a Bear.
if you are specifically interested in blood pressure then the wearable device to get is Aktiaa: aktiia.com.
I have one and it’s great.
You synchronise it with an app and you can see your blood pressure data from different points during the day.
At start of each month you take an actual blood pressure reading yourself with a cuff supplied by them, and that provides a baseline for the other readings throughout that month.
It’s expensive but it’s validated for clinical use.
my husband hs the latest Apple Watch series 9 it wasn’t cheap but does everything including ecg. We wouldn’t be without it since his stroke , Just for peace of mind and to check if his meds are working .
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