Smart watches

[bradiston]

Hi. I have afib (irregular heartbeat) and my neurologist has suggested wearing a decent FDA aporoved smart watch with ECG capabilities, to monitor my heart. I experience an anomaly occasionally which he said would need to be recorded for him to be able to look at the output. I had an EEG recently and no problems were detected.

 

I'm not in training. I'm not really interested in all the bells and whistles. I don't do Apple. I don't have a Samsung phone. So it narrows the field down quite considerably. Any advice/experience out there? Google? Garmin? Or...?

 

 

[Georgealbert]

Have a read of this article, should cover your needs and help you make a decision.

 

Can not give an acceptable recommendation, as I use apple watch 9, which you don't want.

 

https://pocketnow.com/best-smartwatches-for-ecg/

[DudleySquat]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7911WYL?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

 

500 Dollars from Lazada and 300 from Amazon. 

 

I buy everyone small from Amazon. I don't overpay the criminals here.

[bradiston]

1 hour ago, DudleySquat said:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7911WYL?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

 

500 Dollars from Lazada and 300 from Amazon. 

 

I buy everyone small from Amazon. I don't overpay the criminals here.

Thanks but the ECG only works with Samsung phones.

[bradiston]

1 hour ago, Georgealbert said:

Have a read of this article, should cover your needs and help you make a decision.

 

Can not give an acceptable recommendation, as I use apple watch 9, which you don't want.

 

https://pocketnow.com/best-smartwatches-for-ecg/

The linked list includes Huawei which I guess will never get FDA approval. The only remaining one is Google Pixel Watch 2. I read some fairly moderate reviews of it but it will probably do for my purposes.

[DudleySquat]

18 minutes ago, bradiston said:

Thanks, but the ECG only works with Samsung phones.

 

Wrong. ECG is independent of the phone. The watch performs ECG. I use it once in a while and it has nothing to do with my phone. 

[delgarcon]

2 hours ago, bradiston said:

Hi. I have afib (irregular heartbeat) and my neurologist has suggested wearing a decent FDA aporoved smart watch with ECG capabilities, to monitor my heart. I experience an anomaly occasionally which he said would need to be recorded for him to be able to look at the output. I had an EEG recently and no problems were detected.

 

I'm not in training. I'm not really interested in all the bells and whistles. I don't do Apple. I don't have a Samsung phone. So it narrows the field down quite considerably. Any advice/experience out there? Google? Garmin? Or...?

Why are you visiting a neurologist and not a cardiologist?

 

 

[DudleySquat]

2 hours ago, bradiston said:

smart watch with ECG capabilities, to monitor my heart

 

The watch doesn't actively monitor your heart. You initiate the testing. 

 

[Yellowtail]

Why not start with a list of FDA approved smart watch with ECG capabilities and find one that works for you? 

[KannikaP]

When I go for an ECG at the hospital, they put 8 sensors on various parts of my body, including ankles, wrists and chest. Then the machine draws out a graph to show how the blood is reaching those parts, heart rate etc.

There is NO WAY a watch can do those measurements. I had one last year which did not even measure heart-rate accurately. And to measure blood pressure, an artery must be constricted and then slowly released.

Do not fool yourself that a watch can do this properly and accurately.

Edited December 29, 2023 by KannikaP

[bradiston]

47 minutes ago, DudleySquat said:

 

Wrong. ECG is independent of the phone. The watch performs ECG. I use it once in a while and it has nothing to do with my phone. 

Well that's what they're saying in the reviews. "The one thing users must be aware of is that the ECG functionality is only supported on Samsung Galaxy-branded smartphones."

[bradiston]

47 minutes ago, delgarcon said:

 

Because the cardiologist suggested that the anomaly I experience in my heart rhythm was linked to a problem in my brain. But the EEG gave a perfect print out. So have to look elsewhere. There's no way of recording what happens when I experience the anomaly except with a real time non stop ECG monitor.

[bradiston]

54 minutes ago, DudleySquat said:

 

Wrong. ECG is independent of the phone. The watch performs ECG. I use it once in a while and it has nothing to do with my phone. 

And the print out?

[DudleySquat]

2 minutes ago, bradiston said:

And the print out?

 

I'm wondering how sincere you are. The watch tells you if it detects afib. That's it. If it says yes you are in afib, go to a hospital and get all the prints you want. 

 

 

[bradiston]

36 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

When I go for an ECG at the hospital, they put 8 sensors on various parts of my body, including ankles, wrists and chest. Then the machine draws out a graph to show how the blood is reaching those parts, heart rate etc.

There is NO WAY a watch can do those measurements. I had one last year which did not even measure heart-rate accurately. And to measure blood pressure, an artery must be constricted and then slowly released.

Do not fool yourself that a watch can do this properly and accurately.

I think checking for an irregular heartbeat needs only one sensor. It becomes totally obvious after a few beats. But I experience what I call an "anomaly" which is like an electric shock, my heart appears to stop and restart, and I'm there thinking wtf. It's been happening for a few years. Seemed to me that the EEG could definitely shed some light on it, but it seems I'm in great shape from the readings they got. The neurologist wanted me to stay in for 24 hours wired up to the EEG machine but I explained it was an intermittent unpredictable event and I might be lying there for several weeks before it recurred. So the smart watch seemed an ideal solution. At least, worth trying.

[bradiston]

7 minutes ago, DudleySquat said:

 

I'm wondering how sincere you are. The watch tells you if it detects afib. That's it. If it says yes you are in afib, go to a hospital and get all the prints you want. 

 

 

Read above. I'm not an idiot.

Edited December 29, 2023 by bradiston

[KannikaP]

13 minutes ago, bradiston said:

I think checking for an irregular heartbeat needs only one sensor. It becomes totally obvious after a few beats. But I experience what I call an "anomaly" which is like an electric shock, my heart appears to stop and restart, and I'm there thinking wtf. It's been happening for a few years. Seemed to me that the EEG could definitely shed some light on it, but it seems I'm in great shape from the readings they got. The neurologist wanted me to stay in for 24 hours wired up to the EEG machine but I explained it was an intermittent unpredictable event and I might be lying there for several weeks before it recurred. So the smart watch seemed an ideal solution. At least, worth trying.

It's ECG not EEG.

But the way you describe it, you want the watch to only monitor your heartbeat, intermittent or not.

[KannikaP]

1 hour ago, bradiston said:

Thanks but the ECG only works with Samsung phones.

Among all the BS on the Samsung page, it mentions measuring your BMI. For that it needs to know your height & more importantly weight, which obviously can vary from day to day. No way a watch can do this unless you tell it the data.

Easier to use the calculator on your phone for this. BMI is Weight (kg) divided by height (metres) divided again by height. Mine is 70/1.76/1.76 = 22.59. If it is over 25, you need to grow a bit taller!

[CharlieH]

Seems to me people are totally overestimating these smart watches. All they are meant to be are "indicators" they are NOT medical devices and should never be relied upon as such.

They will "indicate" an abnormality etc and then you should go get whatever it is checked "correctly" if its a concern.

 

 

[bradiston]

33 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

It's ECG not EEG.

But the way you describe it, you want the watch to only monitor your heartbeat, intermittent or not.

The EEG measures brain waves. ECG your heart beat. I want the watch to record my heartbeat when the anomaly happens. It's all I can do. It might not tell me anything more than what it feels like. But it's worth a try.

Edited December 29, 2023 by bradiston

[bradiston]

10 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Among all the BS on the Samsung page, it mentions measuring your BMI. For that it needs to know your height & more importantly weight, which obviously can vary from day to day. No way a watch can do this unless you tell it the data.

Easier to use the calculator on your phone for this. BMI is Weight (kg) divided by height (metres) divided again by height. Mine is 70/1.76/1.76 = 22.59. If it is over 25, you need to grow a bit taller!

Im not interested in all that stuff.

[impulse]

To the OP, please post back if you find one that you like.  I love my Garmin watch, but it's of a generation that doesn't record PulseOx or ECG like the newer, zoomier ones.  I have my eyes on the Samsungs because I happen to have a new Galaxy phone.  But I'm open to other brands.

 

On an Amazon holiday sale, I bought one of these (FDA approved), but I won't see it until I go home to the USA which may not be any time soon.  I couldn't get it shipped overseas on the Black Friday sale price.  Not a watch, but pretty neat...  If it works, fingers crossed.  I asked my brother (heart transplant) to open it and try it out for me.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RQW6SD5

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by impulse

[bradiston]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

Why not start with a list of FDA approved smart watch with ECG capabilities and find one that works for you? 

Hmm. That's more or less what I did. Came down to just 2 brands. I'm leaning towards a Google Pixel 2 watch. But i really would prefer a Huawei ceramic. Looks amazing and is probably as good if not better than the rest. Don't really care if the US doesn't approve it. FDA? Only for selected brands of their choosing.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

Why not start with a list of FDA approved smart watch with ECG capabilities and find one that works for you? 

I think that is the important part.

Which devices are officially tested and approved?

There is no point in having some device which claims to have ECG capabilities, but it is not medically certified.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 minute ago, bradiston said:

Hmm. That's more or less what I did. Came down to just 2 brands. I'm leaning towards a Google Pixel 2 watch. But i really would prefer a Huawei ceramic. Looks amazing and is probably as good if not better than the rest. Don't really care if the US doesn't approve it. FDA? Only for selected brands of their choosing.

This is about your heart and your health?

Do you want a device which shows you something?

Or do you want a device which was tested and certified to show real values?

IMHO there is no point in having something which may not be accurate. 

[DudleySquat]

56 minutes ago, bradiston said:

I think checking for an irregular heartbeat needs only one sensor. It becomes totally obvious after a few beats. But I experience what I call an "anomaly" which is like an electric shock, my heart appears to stop and restart, and I'm there thinking wtf. It's been happening for a few years. Seemed to me that the EEG could definitely shed some light on it, but it seems I'm in great shape from the readings they got. The neurologist wanted me to stay in for 24 hours wired up to the EEG machine but I explained it was an intermittent unpredictable event and I might be lying there for several weeks before it recurred. So the smart watch seemed an ideal solution. At least, worth trying.

 

It's a small watch. I'm amazed at what it can do. For your purposes, it isn't for you. 

 

[DudleySquat]

https://www.amazon.com/Livenpace-Monitoring-Personal-Bluetooth-Compatible/dp/B0C1BHL958/ref=sr_1_3?crid=CGIMRX86BMOY&keywords=alivecor&qid=1703845583&sprefix=alivecor%2Caps%2C398&sr=8-3

[DudleySquat]

3 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

IMHO there is no point in having something which may not be accurate.

 

You just gave a reason to throw doctors overboard. 

 

 

[DudleySquat]

The bigger question for the OP, is whether there is a portable device that you can buy, that you can wear all the time. 

[CharlieH]

16 minutes ago, bradiston said:

Hmm. That's more or less what I did. Came down to just 2 brands. I'm leaning towards a Google Pixel 2 watch. But i really would prefer a Huawei ceramic. Looks amazing and is probably as good if not better than the rest. Don't really care if the US doesn't approve it. FDA? Only for selected brands of their choosing.

Huawei have their onw "health" app. My device is Huawei, its not certified etc but when checked with a Drs surgery heart rate monitor it was identical readings. I wear it daily, step count, activity tracker etc. It monitors ny heart rate whilst sleeping, whilst exercising etc and warns me when I push too far and when I can resume. It does what it says on the tin. It suits my needs but it is NOT a medical device.