The AW tells you that your heart rate is elevated, but it doesn't tell you *why*. I recently went to the ER because my AW told me the same thing as this blogger. It turned out I was just dehydrated. I'm not advocating people not go to the ER when their AW tells them their heart rate is abnormally high. But in my case, I wish I had thought of dehydration as a possible cause and measured again after having had a few glasses of water. Would have saved me hours in the ER and quite a few dollars.
I’m guessing the Apple Watch can’t say “why” because to do that it would need to be FDA approved.
Mostly because it needs the additional data typically obtained during a physical (Blood pressure, blood work, EKG, etc., etc., etc.,)
I'd verify it myself with my finger on my artery and a stopwatch first before believing it. I've found my AW3 almost always is wrong when I am doing a workout (walk). It starts out over 120bpm and takes at least 5 minutes before it settles down to the 70-80 range. It used to scare me but now I know it's just plain wrong.
Maybe that Watch should have gone back to Apple during the warranty period. It's performance may not be indicative of all Watches, just as mine that's never missed a beat compared to manual and another consumer BP monitor, a consumer Pulse oximeter, and hospital Plus-ox is only one data point. There are a lot of others that suggest the Apple Watch as opposed to your Watch, is pretty accurate within its scope of functionality.
People whom a doctor may see as at risk for a possible cardiac event are often put on out-patient monitors and sometimes telemetry. It appears this provides continuous monitoring of the heart rate, and possibly detect arrhythmia, using chest electrodes.
That seems pretty similar to what the Watch does but on a more accurate, sophisticated scale. And the Watch couldn't do it continuously for 24hrs.
If my Watch showed my pulse to be abnormally high I might check it manually and hope it's wrong, but I'd be very doubtful. Like stated previously, it's job is to alert not diagnose. That's good enough for me. They may well be non-life threatening episodes of some nature, but I'd want to know WTF.
It's typical for the heart of an out of shape person to be abnormally elevated when they first start out. And, checking your heart rate manually seldom works because, as soon as you stop to check it, it drops down closer to normal.
The fix is to get in better shape. Or, I have found that, after 5 minutes or so, simply stop for a minute, let the heart rate drop then start again and everything is OK. It takes an out of shape body a little while to get into exercise mode.
Last Monday, I had Apple Watch alert me of my high heart rate again... I felt under the weather and had a few coughs. I went to ER and found I have pneumonia. Again!
Last Monday, I had Apple Watch alert me of my high heart rate again... I felt under the weather and had a few coughs. I went to ER and found I have pneumonia. Again!
Pneumonia can be a serious matter even in an otherwise healthy person. Take it seriously, follow the treatment plan and monitor for any breathing issues or worse changes. Having it "again"...how soon since the last time? Viral or bacterial or both? Pneumonia can result in lung damage for the long term too. Take it seriously and get well. Best wishes.
I'd verify it myself with my finger on my artery and a stopwatch first before believing it. I've found my AW3 almost always is wrong when I am doing a workout (walk). It starts out over 120bpm and takes at least 5 minutes before it settles down to the 70-80 range. It used to scare me but now I know it's just plain wrong.
When I first got my Apple Watch, I used it in conjunction with my chest strap for a period of time. The readings were nearly identical every time I checked.
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Mostly because it needs the additional data typically obtained during a physical (Blood pressure, blood work, EKG, etc., etc., etc.,)
It's typical for the heart of an out of shape person to be abnormally elevated when they first start out. And, checking your heart rate manually seldom works because, as soon as you stop to check it, it drops down closer to normal.
The fix is to get in better shape. Or, I have found that, after 5 minutes or so, simply stop for a minute, let the heart rate drop then start again and everything is OK. It takes an out of shape body a little while to get into exercise mode.
Your mileage obviously varies.