Smart watch to monitor heart

I have had a apple watch since March. It records my heartbeat, steps, exercise and will do an ECG. My cardiologist was impressed with the ECG's that I printed for him. The ECG Reports can also be sent to your doctor as a pdf file. I purchased the watch because I thought I was having Afib episodes, but found out I wasn't having any Afib episodes. Having to watch has given me such peace of mind.

I'm on my 3rd Apple Watch.(I bought the first model and updated twice.) I really love it for a variety of reasons. It was because of the watch I found I had Proximal Supra Ventricular Tachicartia (PSVT). It started happening during training runs (I use to run marathons). The watch showed my heart beat would suddenly jump to 160 - 170 bps in the middle of a run. My cartiologist had me wear a 14-day heart monitor to confirm. I would think your doctor would have you wear a monitor to find out when the Afib occurs and what might be triggers. Knowing the triggers (e.g., coffee or other stimulates, exercise, medications, emotional stress) could help reduce episodes.

Looking for recomendations regarding which wrist monitor would be the best for my husband who is 78 years old. I have looked at Apple Watch, Spade and FitBit

Welcome to Connect @concretesue. You will see that I moved your discussion to this related conversation "Smart watch to monitor heart" where members are discussing what type of personal monitors they should use to track their heart. I'd like to share the following website and video https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-heart-rate-monitors
The video in the upper right of the website rates the top 10 heart rate monitors and it looks as though the Apple watch comes in at number 2, only secondary to the Garmin Forerunner 945.

nene22. - Apple watches & phones are costly but good from what I read. I bought a Kardia Moble last year. About $90. Simple, accurate, works with my Android. No additional fees. Takes a 60 sec, single lead ekg. Analyzes average BPM with graph & reports: Normal, Afib ,Tachycardia. Two fingers on a small pad to run. Rated 97% accuracy. Was using often and got hell from my doc saying was causing anxiety which is a known afib trigger. Now I use once a month or so for assurance am still in Normal sinus rhythm since don't feel afib. Can usually tell with pluse but the Kardia is re-assuring. Can send to your doc and options for lot of other features, with added fees. I find the basic test meets my needs. Good basic inexpensive device that works well.

@elwood.. I have a Kardia too and I love it. It sends me a reminder. I showed it to my cardiologist and he approves. When my son in law had afib he emailed the results to his doctor. He no longer has afib after an operation but he still uses it periodically. It's a very inexpensive and good device to have. I also have a fitbit charger which tracks my steps and heart rate. I think I may upgrade that to the new Versa later in the year.

Hi Amanda @amandaburnett, Thank you for sharing the video link. I like that it shows what's available to help us track our health as patients. I also have an series 2 Apple watch and got one of the Kardia Mobile devices when they first came out. I later purchased one of the Karia watch bands for the iWatch and use it more than the 2 pad Kardia device. Both of them give me anxiety but I've gotten used to it after the first time it showed me a possible AFib reading. I showed it to my Mayo primary care doc a few years ago and when he first looked at the readout on my iPhone he went to consult the heart doc at the local clinic. After a few minutes they both concluded the EKG was OK even though the reading was showing some quirks. I'm thinking a lot of the funny readings I get are due to my small fiber peripheral neuropathy and using my fingers/thumb to get the EKG. But, I still like seeing the information and I take my BP and EKG every morning at the same time to see if there are differences.

I finally was able to have my annual exam and labs with my primary care doc and one of things I had written down to discuss with him was the irregular heart beat and low heart rate sleeping. My Apple watch and Kardia app show that I have an irregular heart beat intermittently and PVCs. I told him I've also frequently seen Afib's show up on the app. He scheduled an EKG while I was there to use as a baseline and I have to go to Rochester Mayo Monday for an appointment to connect a 24 hour Holter monitor so they can get a better picture of what might be going on. He thinks I might need a blood thinner but I'm hoping not. I've seen the irregular heart beats since I've had the Apple watch and Kardia app, and on my blood pressure monitor for the last several years but I've never had any physical symptoms where I feel that something is going on. I know it's not a big deal but I'm not looking forward to wearing the monitor while sleeping...yuck.

@johnbishop. I was put on the 24 hour monitor and a two day monitor couple of years ago because sometimes my heart rate would go to peak for a few minutes and then drop back down for no reason usually when I am walking or even doing housework. I never had afib noted on my Kardia. Yes, it is a pain in the you know where to sleep with those monitors. Then out of the blue I had a TIA in January, my cardiologist and my children convinced me to have a loop recorder put in, because to really find out if you have afib or not, you need a continuous monitoring, it may not happen on the days that you have the monitor on. He also put me on blood thinner. I'm not liking it, but if it's that or another TIA or stroke, I don't really have a choice, even though I'm a healthy eater and walks everyday. The loop recorder also let my doctor know if there's any irregular heart rates that's not normal. I've had it for 6 months now, thank goodness no problem has shown up. While I was resistant at first, I have to say it gives me peace of mind. It's so small I don't even feel it. The whole procedure literally only takes a few minutes. There was a little bleeding in the start because of the blood thinner but once the issue was resolved. It was hardly noticeable. Hope the monitor works for you. Take care.

@mayofeb2020, Thank you for sharing your experience. It's really helpful. Although I've never had any noticeable symptoms it has been a concern in the back my mind and I do really want to find out what's going on. Thanks again.