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Oxygen levels and activity

Posted by jjudah @jjudah, Nov 9 2:12pm

I run and hike and was diagnosed with Bronchiectasis a year ago. I have both a Pulmonologist and a Cardiologist. My Cardiologist does not want my heart rate to go above 148 if my oxygen is below 90%. I use an Apple Watch and a O2 Ring from VHealth. Is there anyone else out there trying to continue with aerobic exercise and watching heart rate as well as oxygen level?

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cwal | @cwal | Nov 10 5:19am

I use a Polar arm band to monitor my heart rate during spin class but there is not a way to monitor oxygen with that. I tried using a finger O2 Sat monitor but there is too much movement for it to pick up so I have not found a way to do that. Sounds like you have a good combo with your watch and O2 Ring. Does this work well for you?

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patgreen11 | @patgreen11 | Nov 10 6:01am

Hi,

You can now check your oxygen again with the Apple Watch. The results, however, are not available on the watch, but instantly are available in the Health App on your iPhone.

I use my watch for both heart rate and oxygen saturation. I have an oximeter I will use occasionally to see if the readings from the watch is close which they have been.

This has worked well for me.

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pacathy | @pacathy | Nov 10 6:47am

I use a Polar chest strap for my heart rate and it works much better than phone/watch combo when I'm outside on nearby (easy) trails. My watch would freeze on a number until I'd get in a clearing and it could jump by 30. I have a few arrhythmias if I get close to max (did Zio monitor) and I need accurate numbers.

There are apps for O2 sats that involve putting fingers over camera that I used when I was sicker a couple years ago. They worked well, but I wasn't working out hard then. I just chose one with best reviews.

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jjudah | @jjudah | Nov 10 8:54am
In reply to @pacathy "I use a Polar chest strap for my heart rate and it works much better than..." + (show)
Profile picture for pacathy @pacathy

I use a Polar chest strap for my heart rate and it works much better than phone/watch combo when I'm outside on nearby (easy) trails. My watch would freeze on a number until I'd get in a clearing and it could jump by 30. I have a few arrhythmias if I get close to max (did Zio monitor) and I need accurate numbers.

There are apps for O2 sats that involve putting fingers over camera that I used when I was sicker a couple years ago. They worked well, but I wasn't working out hard then. I just chose one with best reviews.

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@pacathy
Thanks for the info. I forgot about using the chest strap. That with the O2 ring might be good!
JJ

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jjudah | @jjudah | Nov 10 8:56am
In reply to @patgreen11 "Hi, You can now check your oxygen again with the Apple Watch. The results, however, are..." + (show)
Profile picture for patgreen11 @patgreen11

Hi,

You can now check your oxygen again with the Apple Watch. The results, however, are not available on the watch, but instantly are available in the Health App on your iPhone.

I use my watch for both heart rate and oxygen saturation. I have an oximeter I will use occasionally to see if the readings from the watch is close which they have been.

This has worked well for me.

Jump to this post

@patgreen11
Good info! Thanks. I have an old Apple Watch and am due for the new one!
JJ

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jjudah | @jjudah | Nov 10 8:58am
In reply to @cwal "I use a Polar arm band to monitor my heart rate during spin class but there..." + (show)
Profile picture for cwal @cwal

I use a Polar arm band to monitor my heart rate during spin class but there is not a way to monitor oxygen with that. I tried using a finger O2 Sat monitor but there is too much movement for it to pick up so I have not found a way to do that. Sounds like you have a good combo with your watch and O2 Ring. Does this work well for you?

Jump to this post

@cwal
It does for the most part. But sometimes the oxygen levels drop and my watch and the O2 ring are not in sync with the heart rate. My watch will say it is higher than the ring so I stop moving when I may not have to.
JJ

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bayarea58 | @bayarea58 | Nov 14 1:05am
In reply to @jjudah "@pacathy Thanks for the info. I forgot about using the chest strap. That with the O2..." + (show)
Profile picture for jjudah @jjudah

@pacathy
Thanks for the info. I forgot about using the chest strap. That with the O2 ring might be good!
JJ

Jump to this post

@jjudah I find the Polar chest strap far more accurate than Apple Watch for tracking heart-rate.

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cwal | @cwal | Nov 14 5:16am
In reply to @bayarea58 "@jjudah I find the Polar chest strap far more accurate than Apple Watch for tracking heart-rate." + (show)
Profile picture for bayarea58 @bayarea58

@jjudah I find the Polar chest strap far more accurate than Apple Watch for tracking heart-rate.

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@bayarea58
Polar arm band works well for tracking your heart rate also. Haven't found a way to track O2 yet but that would be a nice addition to have.

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jjudah | @jjudah | Nov 14 12:38pm

I am going to try either the chest strap for heart rate. The O2 Ring from ViHealth I think works well for oxygen levels.

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jjudah | @jjudah | Nov 14 12:39pm

Thank you! I am going to do that👍

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