How accurate is the heart monitoring on apple watches?

[athena1277]

Dh got an Apple Watch a few months ago.  In the last month or 2, it has indicated he has had episodes of atrial fibrillation.  All were while he was sleeping.  How concerned do we need to be?  He doesn’t feel bad, but he has been dealing with some other health issues (mostly sinus stuff).

[Jean in Newcastle]

Has he ever been evaluated for sleep apnea?  

[Pawz4me]

One of the nurses (or she may be a CMA) at my primary care practice told me recently that they’ve had several patients who came in because their Apple Watch said something was off and it turned out to be correct. 

[athena1277]

10 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Has he ever been evaluated for sleep apnea?  

No, but he has some sinus issues and past lung problem.  

[prairiewindmomma]

It’s accurate. Relative had an overnight ekg and eeg while wearing the watch. The Apple Watch doesn’t capture nearly what detailed monitoring does, but the accuracy is spot on. 
 

Some degree of a-fib can be normal for some folks—but this is absolutely worth investigating and getting cleared by a doctor on.

And +1 for nod towards a sleep study, for evaluation for apnea.

[Scarlett]

My EP suggested I get an Apple Watch.  It is step one in monitoring......so  now I don't freak out every time my heart races....I just check it and if it says AFib I forward it to my doctor.  If I start having too many episodes he will put in the Loop Monitor (inserted just under the skin-works for 3 years).  

I had the at home sleep study recently.  No sleep apnea.  

It is definitely worth a trip to the cardiologist who will then refer him to an EP.

[Scarlett]

26 minutes ago, athena1277 said:

Dh got an Apple Watch a few months ago.  In the last month or 2, it has indicated he has had episodes of atrial fibrillation.  All were while he was sleeping.  How concerned do we need to be?  He doesn’t feel bad, but he has been dealing with some other health issues (mostly sinus stuff).

Wait.  To check for AFib on the Apple Watch you need to touch the crown with one finger.  Is he getting high heart rate notifications while he sleeps?  Is that what you are meaning? 

[prairiewindmomma]

An Apple Watch can give spontaneous a fib notifications if it detects five incidents in a given time period. Not everything has to be captured by the wearer.

[Scarlett]

2 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

An Apple Watch can give spontaneous a fib notifications if it detects five incidents in a given time period. Not everything has to be captured by the wearer.

I did not know that!  Thank you.

The other night I got 3 high heart rate notifications in the middle of the night.  It is quite annoying.  LOL, but I guess that is why I have it.

[Katy]

He needs to be evaluated ASAP. A childhood friend recently died of a heart attack in his sleep. Please take this seriously. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Fwiw, KardiaMobil 6L sells a personal EKG monitor, available through Walmart and elsewhere  but I still recommend contacting a doctor.

[MEmama]

Not Apple Watch specific, but has he ever had Covid? I have a friend who is suffering from long covid and has been to the ER several times with afib. He’s currently waiting for a sleep apnea study. Apparently afib is a not-uncommon post Covid symptom. 

[athena1277]

1 hour ago, MEmama said:

Not Apple Watch specific, but has he ever had Covid? I have a friend who is suffering from long covid and has been to the ER several times with afib. He’s currently waiting for a sleep apnea study. Apparently afib is a not-uncommon post Covid symptom. 

He had the J&J vax around May of last year and we all had Covid in August.  He felt a little bad for 1 day, but not so bad he couldn’t work from home a few hours.  I don’t think it’s related to that, but with Covid anything seems possible.

[MEmama]

27 minutes ago, athena1277 said:

He had the J&J vax around May of last year and we all had Covid in August.  He felt a little bad for 1 day, but not so bad he couldn’t work from home a few hours.  I don’t think it’s related to that, but with Covid anything seems possible.

Yeah it probably isn’t related, I just thought I’d throw it out there. For whatever it might be worth (or not). 

[Scarlett]

4 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Fwiw, KardiaMobil 6L sells a personal EKG monitor, available through Walmart and elsewhere  but I still recommend contacting a doctor.

Kardia Mobil is pretty much the same concept as the Apple  Watch though right?

@athena1277 I do think he needs to be checked out.....but I have been dealing with this for years.  Heart attack is not the concern with AFib.....Stroke is what they worry about.  But they don't want to put everyone who has rapid heart rate in the middle of the night on bloodthinners either.  Thus the need for further evaluation.  

For instance, I have sent my EP about dozen of my AFib reports.  None of them have been concerning to him at all.  

And it takes a while to get in to see most EPs.  So the sooner you start the better.

[prairiewindmomma]

KardiaMobil has 6 leads and is a medical grade EKG for home use. The Apple Watch is a single lead.

Study was funded by the device maker, but here's it compared to a holter: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circ.138.suppl_1.10550

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6598422/---a longer multi-study analysis

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I think the device has a place in lower income countries who would struggle to buy a basic machine. It would fit in here only if cardiology had a long wait to get in (which is entirely possible these days) as a way to capture info to jump the wait-line.  It shouldn't be used to evaluate yourself and then say, "oh, guess it's not a problem."  I'm definitely advocating that her dh be seen in a semi-urgent way.