Smart watches

[bradiston]

11 minutes ago, DudleySquat said:

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

Well, obviously you can wear a watch all the time. However, from what I'm beginning to find out, asking a device to continuously monitor heart beat may not be possible. It seems several that do do ECG require you to place a finger on the bezel. So that's far from continuous. It's on demand. Not sure where this is all going.

[DudleySquat]

1 minute ago, bradiston said:

Well, obviously you can wear a watch all the time. However, from what I'm beginning to find out, asking a device to continuously monitor heart beat may not be possible. It seems several that do do ECG require you to place a finger on the bezel. So that's far from continuous. It's on demand. Not sure where this is all going.

 

That is exactly what I wrote earlier.

[bradiston]

Just now, DudleySquat said:

 

That is exactly what I wrote earlier.

Err, really?

[DudleySquat]

8 minutes ago, bradiston said:

Err, really?

 

 

[impulse]

3 minutes ago, bradiston said:

Well, obviously you can wear a watch all the time. However, from what I'm beginning to find out, asking a device to continuously monitor heart beat may not be possible. It seems several that do do ECG require you to place a finger on the bezel. So that's far from continuous. It's on demand. Not sure where this is all going.

Just skimming the instructions for a couple of them, they seem to monitor heart rate and trigger a warning when they detect an event that you'd want to look at more closely.  Seems like a reasonable compromise between a longer battery life and having the ability to quickly capture a waveform when appropriate.

 

If you want 100% timewise coverage, (and more accurate waveforms) you want a Holter Monitor.  But they're pretty intrusive.

 

[DudleySquat]

Just now, impulse said:

Just skimming the instructions for a couple of them, they seem to monitor heart rate and trigger a warning when they detect an event that you'd want to look at more closely.  Seems like a reasonable compromise between a longer battery life and having the ability to quickly capture a waveform when appropriate.

 

If you want 100% timewise coverage, (and more accurate waveforms) you want a Holter Monitor.  But they're pretty intrusive.

 

 

My Samsung 6 requires a finger to be placed on the top button for AFIB. 

 

You could do it regularly or when you suspect something is afoot. 

 

 

[DudleySquat]

I'm wrong. 

 

The one thing users must be aware of is that the ECG functionality is only supported on Samsung Galaxy-branded smartphones.

 

I have a 4-year-old Samsung A71. It works with my new Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

[impulse]

2 minutes ago, DudleySquat said:

My Samsung 6 requires a finger to be placed on the top button for AFIB. 

 

You could do it regularly or when you suspect something is afoot. 

 

Does it trigger a warning to let you know when to take a reading?

[DudleySquat]

2 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Does it trigger a warning to let you know when to take a reading?

 

No.

[DudleySquat]

I don't have heart issues. I am at an age where I could. My father went into afib at least once a month on a holiday. I don't know how afib feels. He usually knew without a monitor that he was in afib.

 

 

[bradiston]

1 hour ago, DudleySquat said:

I don't have heart issues. I am at an age where I could. My father went into afib at least once a month on a holiday. I don't know how afib feels. He usually knew without a monitor that he was in afib.

 

 

It's pretty constant but you don't notice it necessarily. The doctor showed me my print out. It was normal for a short time then flat. Another scan they do is like a pregnancy scan. Not sure what it's called. Echo cardiogram maybe. But it shows you your heart beating on screen. From the test they can get readings of the volume of blood being pumped. Mine was way down but improved with the meds. They say now it's satisfactory at around 60%. If you feel knackered most of the time, I figure it could be because your heart isn't pumping efficiently. But all these tests you need to go in for. Maybe once every 6 months is enough. I've lived with afib for about 10 years. Just look after yourself and it's hardly noticeable. I don't drink or smoke. My doctor said Viagra was not a problem. It increases the blood flow, especially to parts other meds can't reach, as we know! I'll keep looking at these watches. Not sure if they'd be any use to me though. Thanks to everyone who answered. It's cleared my rather muddled thinking!

[DudleySquat]

Try Cialis instead. It works for 36 hours and will lower your blood pressure.  You can take 5mg after the first 20mg, and if you take it daily, the drug never wears off and will lower BP. 

 

It's a big win. 

[bradiston]

14 minutes ago, DudleySquat said:

Try Cialis instead. It works for 36 hours and will lower your blood pressure.  You can take 5mg after the first 20mg, and if you take it daily, the drug never wears off and will lower BP. 

 

It's a big win. 

I use kamagra jelly and have a large supply of it from overseas. It seems to suit me.

[DudleySquat]

Just now, bradiston said:

I use kamagra jelly and have a large supply of it from overseas. It seems to suit me.

 

Ok. 4 hours vs 36.  I can see why you would choose the 4 hours. 

[bradiston]

I've come to realise there's no way a smart watch can do what I want, which is continuous heartbeat monitoring. But I did find a method for doing this. It consists of a patch applicable to the patient's chest. Totally unobtrusive. I've no idea why this isn't used more widely. Like many new(ish) technologies, they're expensive at about $500 each, (but 7,000 THB on eBay) and only single use, over 2 weeks. So monitoring a month might set you back ~15,000 THB. That's without the analysis service.

 

https://www.irhythmtech.com/providers/zio-service/zio-monitors

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/30/tiny-patch-powering-big-data-is-changing-the-way-we-monitor-heartbeats.html

 

For me, at that price, a last resort. Maybe in future the price will come down.

 

Anyway, that's me signing off.

 

 

[BigStar]

2 hours ago, bradiston said:

I've come to realise there's no way a smart watch can do what I want, which is continuous heartbeat monitoring.

 

I'll just throw out a speculation, which you or someone can verify or shoot down, based on my limited experience w/ a smart watch that I decided I didn't need.

 

Presumably you have an app on the phone that tracks the monitoring on your watch, connected via Bluetooth. The watch doesn't store the raw data but sends it to the app. The app then records it over time and stores it on the phone or possibly in the cloud, if enabled. A good app would offer some analysis.

 

So you turn on the monitoring and it stays on until you turn it off, on the watch. With mine, you couldn't do anything else w/ the watch while it was monitoring something. That is, for example, you couldn't tell time. ;)

 

Despite all the sneering here, I found my cheap smartwatch pretty accurate, close enough to be sufficiently indicative. Your neurologist suggested it and he knows what he's talking about.

 

 

[bradiston]

31 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

I'll just throw out a speculation, which you or someone can verify or shoot down, based on my limited experience w/ a smart watch that I decided I didn't need.

 

Presumably you have an app on the phone that tracks the monitoring on your watch, connected via Bluetooth. The watch doesn't store the raw data but sends it to the app. The app then records it over time and stores it on the phone or possibly in the cloud, if enabled. A good app would offer some analysis.

 

So you turn on the monitoring and it stays on until you turn it off, on the watch. With mine, you couldn't do anything else w/ the watch while it was monitoring something. That is, for example, you couldn't tell time. ;)

 

Despite all the sneering here, I found my cheap smartwatch pretty accurate, close enough to be sufficiently indicative. Your neurologist suggested it and he knows what he's talking about.

 

 

Sure, but to take an ECG reading you usually need to place at least one finger on some part of the watch which acts as a data gatherer, for around 30 seconds. But I take your point about the link to an app. I'll pursue that.

 

And my neurologist, however good at neurology, made a complete mess of my insurance claim, which, as it turned out, was pointless in any case. I won't go into details but he really screwed it up. It's possible I'll lose all cover, whereas before this I was 16 months through a 24 month moratorium on pre existing conditions.

[bradiston]

On 12/30/2023 at 1:01 PM, BigStar said:

 

I'll just throw out a speculation, which you or someone can verify or shoot down, based on my limited experience w/ a smart watch that I decided I didn't need.

 

Presumably you have an app on the phone that tracks the monitoring on your watch, connected via Bluetooth. The watch doesn't store the raw data but sends it to the app. The app then records it over time and stores it on the phone or possibly in the cloud, if enabled. A good app would offer some analysis.

 

So you turn on the monitoring and it stays on until you turn it off, on the watch. With mine, you couldn't do anything else w/ the watch while it was monitoring something. That is, for example, you couldn't tell time. ;)

 

Despite all the sneering here, I found my cheap smartwatch pretty accurate, close enough to be sufficiently indicative. Your neurologist suggested it and he knows what he's talking about.

 

 

A number of Fitbit devices do continuous heart beat monitoring. But from what I've read, you need a 3rd party app to download the data to an external device. And believe it or not, the ECG functionality only works in a limited number of countries, none in Asia. Still I shall press on.

[BigStar]

2 hours ago, bradiston said:

A number of Fitbit devices do continuous heart beat monitoring. But from what I've read, you need a 3rd party app to download the data to an external device. And believe it or not, the ECG functionality only works in a limited number of countries, none in Asia. Still I shall press on.

 

Apps are needed on the smartphone, yes. My fitness watch uploaded the data to the app on the phone. The app is third-party, as most apps are.

 

Ran across the article tonight that may be of interest:

 

https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-heart-rate-monitors/

 

[CanadaSam]

Brad, firstly, your doctor seems to be an idiot.

 

Yes, viagra and the others increase blood flow, but to the extremities only, your heart and organs actually suffer from a loss of blood pressure, which you already have, so these drugs lower it further, putting you at risk of heart attack.

 

Change your doctor.  Secondly, I too suffer from these things that you call the heart stopping for a while and restarting with a jolt, and it usually happens after heavy drinking, for me.

 

I too, suffer from low blood pressure, and therefore, I stay well away from the wee wee enhancers, it is not good for those of us with low BP.

 

[bradiston]

On 12/29/2023 at 5:41 PM, CharlieH said:

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.

And how about uploading the heart rate data?

[bradiston]

7 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

Brad, firstly, your doctor seems to be an idiot.

 

Yes, viagra and the others increase blood flow, but to the extremities only, your heart and organs actually suffer from a loss of blood pressure, which you already have, so these drugs lower it further, putting you at risk of heart attack.

 

Change your doctor.  Secondly, I too suffer from these things that you call the heart stopping for a while and restarting with a jolt, and it usually happens after heavy drinking, for me.

 

I too, suffer from low blood pressure, and therefore, I stay well away from the wee wee enhancers, it is not good for those of us with low BP.

 

My blood pressure has never been a problem, and at the BPH they check it every time you visit.

 

A heart rate monitor just monitors BPM, and an ECG monitor checks for the regularity of the heart beat, amongst other things. But a print out of either is essential for a medical professional to be able to assess your heart's performance/condition.

 

I just tried setting up an account on the Fitbit app. Google,who bought Fitbit, wants permission to use all your medical data gathered by the device. I bailed out at that point. They've got to be kidding.

 

But as I said, there is a user written app that Fitbit users recommend. But you can hardly try before you buy. So it's just a shot in the dark as to whether this thing is going to be of any use.

 

I'm seeing my doctor in a few days. I'll press him on what it is he's looking for. Right now, it's hard to see the wood for the trees.

[Digitalbanana]

On 12/29/2023 at 12:30 PM, bradiston said:

and my neurologist has suggested wearing a decent FDA aporoved smart watch with ECG capabilities

 

On 12/29/2023 at 12:30 PM, bradiston said:

Any advice/experience out there? Google? Garmin? Or...?

 

What did the neurologist recommend? If nothing I would go get a second opinion.

[HighPriority]

Who REALLY knows what that legal term means though ?

 

If I don’t give Facebook permission to access my photo gallery on my mobi I can’t upload that pic of my cat playing with a ball of wool…

Does Zucc sit in his office scrolling through my pics after midnight ? Hopefully not but 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

I use Apple, I believe it’s less intrusive than Google, you’ve declared a dislike of Apple and that’s up to you.

At the end of the day, you can buy a range of watches and via an app record heart rate data essentially free of charge.

I obviously don’t know (but who does ?) some of whatever data they do “take” will be to purely enhance the diagnostic software, which is a good thing.

 

Are you really giving up anything intrinsically personal or identifiable ?

Again only you can answer that.

 

As an aside, I’ve read that some of the watches and more importantly their background software are in fact excellent at detecting and alerting to abnormal heart rate issues.
I myself wear a Garmin Forerunner watch that’s a few years old, so not the latest/greatest but last year it alerted me that my heart rate was too high after a run.

I felt ok, did a quick google into the alert and it was a generic alert that “my heart rate was above 100bpm 10 minutes after stopping exercise” or somesuch. The rate/time trigger point can be customised aparently but it hasn’t happened again.

 

I hope you get to the bottom of your health issues.

[bradiston]

I had to go in for an appointment with my eye doctor and called on the cardiologist. I asked him if the data from a continuous heart rate monitor was of any use to him at all. No. Beats per minute aren't going to tell him anything. He went through my options. Holter, mini Holter (similar to a patch), or a small implant that costs between 100,000 and 150,000 which he showed me. So it appears smart watches arent worth pursuing in my case.

 

I give up.

[CharlieH]

On 1/1/2024 at 8:39 AM, bradiston said:

And how about uploading the heart rate data?

It's all recordedi n the app, the watch and app are connected. You can look and review everything the watch monitors.

 

You can see its continous 24 hrs a day.......and no I dont do anything but wear it.

 

[bradiston]

It's interesting but the cardiologist says BPM is of no use to him. He needs to record the event I experience only very occasionally. But thanks, all the same. It still looks interesting.

[DudleySquat]

https://youtu.be/zqmRWcjCZSg

 

The watch will look for afib even if you sleep. 

 

 

[bradiston]

53 minutes ago, DudleySquat said:

https://youtu.be/zqmRWcjCZSg

 

The watch will look for afib even if you sleep. 

 

 

It's impossible. To do an ECG scan you need at least one finger on a pickup point for 30 seconds. ECG is not a heart rate monitor, which just returns BPM. Don't believe a thing you see or read on YouTube. Everything's fake there.

[DudleySquat]

5 hours ago, bradiston said:

It's impossible. To do an ECG scan you need at least one finger on a pickup point for 30 seconds. ECG is not a heart rate monitor, which just returns BPM. Don't believe a thing you see or read on YouTube. Everything's fake there.

 

I am always amazed at the ignorant statements made so easily when I give you a YouTube video that goes over this feature in detail.