Reply With QuoteYes.
I mainly use the HR feature for cycling workouts. The ECG trace from the watch is remarkably similar to the ECG traces that I need to get for my bi-annual medical.
I see a few of these being bought and sold so I thought I’d ask.
I see that they claim an ecg function too which I think is a bit of a thin claim but I’d like to be able to see a record of heart activity over an extended period.
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Yes.
I mainly use the HR feature for cycling workouts. The ECG trace from the watch is remarkably similar to the ECG traces that I need to get for my bi-annual medical.
Don't know if these have blood pressure measurement don't trust them. I had Samsung and they were up to 40% inaccurate.
I’d like to be able to have something to show the doctor when I say “at such a time this happened” and see if there was anything in the watch’s history. I just can’t see the Apple Watch being able to mimic a six lead-wearable ecg that I had in hospital.Originally Posted by Bravo73
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I’m going to get a proper monitor.
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The Kardia is very well regarded, including by GPs:
https://store.alivecor.co.uk/products/kardiamobile6l
It's not a permanent monitor but generates very high quality single/6-lead ECGs on demand.
Last edited by Tom-P; 14th January 2024 at 23:33.
You are missing the point of the watch. It’s not meant to replace a six lead ecg. If you need one your cardiologist will tell you and you only wear it for a limited time.
However you can set your watch with various alert thresholds (arythmie, slow heart rate, fast heart rate…) that will alert you of an issue. It will also monitor your VO2 Max and your oxygen levels throughout the time you’re wearing the watch. It will NOT monitor your blood pressure. You can then export your data as XML files and forward them to your GP/Cardiologist. What is great with the Apple Watch is that it is very consistent. So even if specialist equipment would find a (slightly) different value at any one time, the variations of that data over time would be identical. Which is exactly what your doctor would like to see.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
It will never mimic a 6 lead ECG - nothing in the watch world will.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
That’s the thing really…cardiologist suggested it as a way to keep a record of my heart activity and be alerted to low or fast heart rate rather than as a diagnostic tool, I just wondered what real-life experiences were vs Apple’s claims.
I have no desire for one in normal life but if it can provide data that will speed up any diagnoses I’m happy to get one.
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The fact that your cardiologist suggested it speaks for itself, much more eloquently than any of us.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Thank you for the advice it’s much appreciated. I thought there might be someone who uses one in this way already, given the number of dodgy tickers…
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I use an Apple Ultra and have compared the results with the doctors version during medicals ( the doctor like gadgets which made this easier). The heart rate was same, the oxygen sensor was the same but responded slightly faster when I changed my breathing and the ECG looked similar but took a little while to settle.
The watch integrates with the Health app well so can provide summary data to a doctor if you’re prone to episodes of feeling a bit crappy !
No dodgy ticker here yet
What I meant was that it was a reliable tool for a number of heart related data, but not a wizard wand that can do everything (blood pressure as mentioned earlier for example); and that your cardiologist recommended it because it can monitor effectively the type of data that he would like to keep an eye on in your case.
For example someone mentioned the karda. It is good but you need to stop whatever you are doing to get it to take a reading, whereas the watch will monitor quasi constantly.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I do not have an Apple Watch but I was wearing a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro when I was recently in hospital for a week while wired up to the heart rate monitor for several days following a heart attack and cardiac arrest. I was genuinely surprised how accurate the heart rate monitor was over that time.
If you have heart issues, they are a useful monitoring tool, but obviously will never replace the type of kit available at the GP's/hospital. My own Garmin rarely leaves my wrist now.
My friend wore one (generally for exercise stats) and one day had a low heart rate warning which prompted him to visit the docs - turned out he did have a heart issue. So although its probably not medical grade equipment it can be useful for flagging up potential unexpected issues.
Last edited by kultschar; 15th January 2024 at 13:15.
Very sorry to hear that. Hope you are recovering well.
Out of interest was you wearing the Garmin during your heart attack?
Thank you.
Unfortunately I was not wearing it at the time, as I had swopped it for my G Shock as I was digging a hole. Shame, as it would have been interesting to see what it made out of it all!
Sorry to hear that and best of luck for your recovery.
I asked the GP about my Garmin abnormal heart rate notifications last week but she told me unless it was an ECG model she couldn’t look at it, advise, or investigate.
Bought the Venu 3 two days ago for the ECG but it’s not available in the UK yet so I might finally be bullied into an Apple Watch.
That sounds really scary. I didn’t have an actual cardiac arrest more of a minor episode, but I’ve had to have a stent and long-term medication as appears to be usual in these cases, I’m just really struggling to communicate to doctors that I still have pains and I’d like to be able to back it up with some evidence. I hope your recovery is going ok?
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For me this is the issue. Can’t stand them, but if it helps , why wouldn’t you? I could wear it on my other wrist but it looks daft.
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I normally wear a Garmin vivosmart 5 on my opposite wrist which works well but no ECG which is what I need right now. Shame as I really do like the Garmin body battery and stress features and the smugness in me is very happy as never having owned an Apple Watch.
I wore double wristed for a while but I stopped during the various Covid lockdowns. Time used to be from a «*proper*» watch, everything else was the Apple Watch. But time became less important as there was no train to catch and such like, and a reminder of your online meetings was a welcome one as time at home flows differently. I then relented and wear only the Apple Watch.
It also leans that I am in much better shape than I used to be as the relentless recording of your activities highlights your lack thereof and is an excellent incentive, especially as it is between you and yourself.
So forget about «*looking daft*», you’ll look a lot dafter if you get caught out by a condition your Apple Watch (or any other smart watch) could have help avoiding.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
The recovery is all going well, thank you.
I had a stent to repair a 95-99% blocked LAD artery, so I am also on the usual meds which go with it. I was unconscious from the second it happened, so didn't know much about it until I regained consciousness several minutes later, but my wife had to watch the whole thing unfold before her. Apparently I collapsed, then stopped breathing and started to turn blue, so she went straight into performing CPR. Without her I would be dead, no doubt about it. When you look into the statistics around surviving an episode like that, it is a minor miracle that I survived.
I had shown virtually no previous symptoms other than a bit of minor chest pain a couple of weeks prior - which my GP thought was stomach acid. I was fit and otherwise healthy (or so I thought!), with no family history of heart problems.
It was just not my time to go....
The Fitbit Sense 2 has an ECG function: https://www.fitbit.com/global/uk/pro...e2?sku=521BKGB
£179 on Amazon.
I use my Apple Watch for swimming most mornings, it’s accurate on distance seems to be about right on heartbeat etc. The only problem I get is when I look back to last years times and distance I seem to be doing less length’s in the same time. Growing old I guess.
When I look at Garmin running data from years ago it’s hard to believe I’m the same person
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Also worth mentioning that you can configure Apple Health to show all the Heart data you want as favourites. And don’t forget HRV, which shows your body stress trends in broad terms.
Appreciate Linocut you want a watch to show beat to beat irregularities, I believe Apple are well up there with that feature. For overall health my simple Garmin Forerunner 45 gives a window on how hard your heart is beating at rest. Over the last week I have been battling a winter cold. Im still sniffling, but today’s resting hr shows a big improvement on the earlier week.
I find this and the body battery feature mentioned by Wileee up above usefull.
Thanks I did dig out my old 620 but it needs a chest strap and I need to start the clock to record data. I think I’ll just bite the bullet and get one. I won’t be using my strimmer for a while maybe I can trade it on here!
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Can I just vouch for the provenance on that strimmer :)
Returned the Garmin Venu 3 today and left with an Ultra 2. Way too many notifications but pretty good once turned off. Better than I was expecting.
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