Heart Rate app on iPhone, any recommendations please?

[Bumpitybump]

7 days post AVR and doing well. One day out of Hospital and unsurprisingly feel a little vulnerable without all the monitors. I do have blood pressure monitor and a Kardia for ECG but wondering if any of the apps on measuring heart rate are any good? Any feedback most welcome.

[Rosie1066]

I’ve been using an Apple Watch and the IPhone app for a good few years now have found no problems with it. You can also take an ECG, it will remind you when your meds are due and will phone the emergency services automatically if you have a hard fall plus much more. Thoroughly recommend.

[Bumpitybump in reply to Rosie1066]

Thank you so much. I do not need too much of an excuse to pursue Apple products, I will take a look.

[Rosie1066 in reply to Bumpitybump]

I believe the Apple App only works with an Apple Watch, it’s not a standalone.

[Class52 in reply to Rosie1066]

Health app works with my Fitbit app it passes over the info by syncing automatically

[Tos92]

I’m not sure if it is possible for an app alone on your phone to record your heart rate without linking it to a device such as a smart watch. The smart watch has a sensor which is constantly monitoring your heart rate in the background. Like Rosie, I have an Apple Watch and this is linked to my iPhone. I can access data about my health and heart via their app called “health”. Without the Apple Watch, I would not be able to see info regarding my heart such as the HR, oxygen saturation levels, ECG reports (it is now possible to take an ECG with an Apple Watch), my levels of cardio fitness etc.

Although, do keep in mind that these gadgets or devices do not replace the equipment at the hospital. I use my Apple Watch as more of an indicator of my heart health and my cardiologist also encourages me to use this to monitor my HR. It might be worth investing in one.

All the best.

Tos

[Bumpitybump in reply to Tos92]

Thank you too. I will take a look. A quick glance appeared to indicate there were now apps you can use on your phone alone. If I find out more I will post again. Thank you for your time.

[Furryears in reply to Tos92]

Hi Tos92 I was very interested with your reply

I too have an Apple Watch and an apple phone I have got them linked, I hope you don’t mind me asking how do you get an ECG I am not the best and just thought I would ask you, my watch has been notifying me recently that my HR has been going under 50, and when I check it goes sometimes as low as 43-45, I have told my consultant only last week and he took me off one of my meds, I would be very interested to learn how I need to set it ti do an ECG

Fully aware that nothing replaces the hospital equipment

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this 😊

[Tos92 in reply to Furryears]

Hi Furryears,

I hope you are doing ok.

You can use the ECG on an Apple Watch if it’s a Series 4 onwards. I have the Series 8 so I can use the ECG if I need to.

It’s pretty straightforward. If you press the crown on your watch it will come up with all the available apps. You need to select the one which has the squiggly lines like an ECG. It has a white background and the lines are red. After you’ve selected that, it will require you to place your index finger on the crown. The app will prompt you to do this anyway. Try to keep really still and keep your finger in the same position for 30 seconds. After it has been complete, the watch will ask you if you will like to add any symptoms from their selection. You can choose to add these or dismiss these. As soon as you have completed it, you will receive a notification on your iPhone telling you that your ECG report is available on your health app. Press on that notification and it will take you straight to your report where you can view it. The app also saves all your ECG reports so you can refer back to them and show your cardiologist if you wish to.

You should sit upright and place your arm on a table or something similar to rest it on before taking your ECG as this can affect the reading. Movement can also affect the reading.

I’ve attached some pictures from Google below to give you a rough idea. I hope they help!

Where to place finger on Apple Watch to take an ECG.

[Tos92 in reply to Furryears]

Apple Watch

Apple Watch ECG icon.

[Crumbling]

I have Fibricheck on mine, it is approved by the NHS it checks for anomalies in heart rate.

[Class52]

I’ve used my iPhone to record my measurements for a few years now I just can’t justify an Apple Watch so I use a garmin which does all I need. Heart rate atrial fibrillation oxygen etc additionally records sleep exercise

[Class52 in reply to Class52]

Not sure why I said Garmin I meant Fitbit. I used to use a garmin chest belt which was okay but kept slipping get on well with my Fitbit 4

[Bumpitybump in reply to Class52]

Thanks for sharing

[Catkin-blake]

Same as Tos92 I use my Apple Watch and phone to monitor HR blood sats a basic sinus ecg . Worth its cost as after my NSTEMI after myocarditis my t wave was inverted but over the months as I got better it reverted slowly to a positive wave which I could see on the ecg reading. This really helped me mentally in recovery. I now use the health and fitness apps to monitor HR and cardio fitness

[cappachina]

I have a Samsung watch which does most things and seems to be good