Apple watch, 215 Max HR recorded

[Trent0341]

So an update:
I've had 4 runs where I used both the Apple watch and Tickr X to track my runs at the same time (over 5 miles in length).

3 of those workouts I kept my heart rate (using the Tickr X) under 144 (Dr. Maffetone or Mark Allen theory of training). The Apple watch and Tickr X stayed within a few heartbeats of each other through out my runs (pace and distance were very similar as well).

Yesterday I stepped it up a little because running so slow has been driving me insane. (I hit a 5:30 pace at one point which is not something I can maintain for very long and I would consider it fast for me although not an all out sprint either).

My heart rate topped out at 180 on the Tickr X
On the Apple watch... 212

It seems to me that my first HR reading of 215 is going to be, as suspected, an error. I still have a doctors appointment to confirm this.

Summary:
The apple watch works great on slow jogs (and I mean slow). It has difficulty when you pick up the intensity to near MHR levels. I was wearing the Apple watch tight and approximately 1" above the wrist bone.

 

[Bersh001]

I'm a 69 y/o physician whose pulse rates have been tracked by my hospital for 75 days as part of their quality assessment of the technology. My height/weight are identical to yours. I do high intensity biking (today- 52 miles at 17 mph; longest ride = New Orleans>Minneapolis). The hospital has recorded 5 readings of 215 (max technology reads) and 5 readings of 20. All occurred during waking hours, virtually all while I'm at rest (not exercising). I'm pretty sure I'd know if my heart rate was anywhere close to either of those numbers, but I've had no symptoms at all. I feel these are likely erroneous readings.

I’m trying to determine if this is even possible and if there are any health implication to this.

Some background:
36 yoa
Weight 170lbs (77.1kg)
Height 5’10” (178cm)
My workouts consist of running 3-4 times a week, push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and a fair amount of walking.
I’ve only ever used an apple watch to record my HR during workouts

I have always felt I’ve had an above average (on the top end) heart rate.
My resting heart rate is somewhere in the 60s with the occasional (read at least daily) drop into the 50s.

My previous highest recorded heart rate was 198 (during a 1 mile all out test).

The circumstances behind this HR: It was on a track during a two mile run. I set a PR (at least it was the fastest I’ve run in the last 6-7 years, I’ve had faster in my younger days). I was paced the last 1/8 of a mile or so by someone who is considerably faster than me at this (and probably every other) distance. The times where I recorded this HR seems to coincide with the last 1/8th of a mile although I can’t be 100% certain. Interested in hearing from some of the more knowledgeable among you in regards to this. Thanks!

 

[Julien]

I'm a 69 y/o physician whose pulse rates have been tracked by my hospital for 75 days as part of their quality assessment of the technology. My height/weight are identical to yours. I do high intensity biking (today- 52 miles at 17 mph; longest ride = New Orleans>Minneapolis). The hospital has recorded 5 readings of 215 (max technology reads) and 5 readings of 20. All occurred during waking hours, virtually all while I'm at rest (not exercising). I'm pretty sure I'd know if my heart rate was anywhere close to either of those numbers, but I've had no symptoms at all. I feel these are likely erroneous readings.

This is an old outdated thread related to when the Watch was released and wOS 1. Why are you digging up such an old thread and replying with a quote? The person (OP) you are quoting appears to not even have visited this forum at all this year. What is the point? Please stick to more recent and relative threads.

 

[Bersh001]

This is an old outdated thread related to when the Watch was released and wOS 1. Why are you digging up such an old thread and replying with a quote? The person (OP) you are quoting appears to not even have visited this forum at all this year. What is the point? Please stick to more recent and relative threads.

I posted because this link was forwarded to me asking for my input given my experience with the device. What are you doing wasting your time commenting on this? Be nice.

 

[Julien]

I posted because this link was forwarded to me asking for my input given my experience with the device. What are you doing wasting your time commenting on this? Be nice.

Because the firmware has been updated (several times) and the OP's post is no longer relevant to the current wOS. So any current experience is irrelevant to this thread. *When you bump and quote a far outdated post many people don't realize it and think it is current info and will (incorrectly) post to it without looking at the date. Also you 'spoke' directly to the OP even though the OP hasn't even visited this site in a year.

I was also letting others know that this is (or should be) a legacy thread.

*EDIT: See posts below as proof.

 

[SHNXX]

Hmm yeah, that seems wrong.
I don't really trust the Apple Watch's ability to track heart rate accurately except in ideal conditions, where you're wearing it tightly enough, in just the right position, while not moving and not using the arm to grab something, so as not to perturb the circulation.

 

[username:]

What is wrong with that dude's arm?

What's wrong with you??
[doublepost=1472794188][/doublepost]

You *******s. I was feeling pretty good about my 178bpm average heart rate during my last run. I've been trying to get back into running and thought that was pretty damn good considering I'm 30 and my MHR is supposed to be 190.

Sad face.

That is good, sounds healthy to me

Oops didn't see the dates!

 

[exxxviii]

The sudden jump from 185 to 215 and then from 202 back dow to 184 would very likely indicate a misreading.
Misreadings are not uncommon with wrist HRMs when/if not worn correctly.
The correct way to wear a HRM is tight and well away from the wrist bone (1 inch away). Definitely not where anyone would normally wear a watch.

Yeah, I see this a lot too. I does get better when the strap is one notch tighter.

 

[iBreatheApple]

I like that you shave your arms, that's a good look!

...but I could only afford a dull razor.

Take it to PM, boys.

 

[Vanilla35]

What is wrong with that dude's arm?

Lol I was going to say, "It looks like the dude is jacked, and all I can see is his wrist!" then I saw the picture below

Just check with "that dude" and all seems fine to me. "That dude" did say of all his arms it is the weakest, least coordinated and least favorite. On the plus side "that dude" said he doesn't wipe his but with it.



Here is a pic of "that dude's" same arm sans Watch from another angle.

 

[Julien]

Lol I was going to say, "It looks like the dude is jacked, and all I can see is his wrist!" then I saw the picture below

I'm sure I saw that dude sitting on his but today eating pizza.

 

[Vanilla35]

I'm sure I saw that dude sitting on his but today eating pizza.

Happens to the best of us. Gotta carb up every once in a while

 

[Julien]

Happens to the best of us. Gotta carb up every once in a while

That dude carbs up every day. He better hit the gym and go for a run tomorrow or he is going to weigh 153 lbs.

 

[Vanilla35]

That dude carbs up every day. He better hit the gym and go for a run tomorrow or he is going to weigh 153 lbs.

Carb day...carb week...carb season, lol. Good for you though, with what I assume is a very balanced diet (minus the spikes every other day lol). I can't wait for cold weather so that outdoor running becomes more appealing again. I also tend to eat more carbs in the winter and less in the summer.

Anyway this got way too off topic. With the Watch having random HR spikes that's pretty disappointing; when compared to other fitness devices. No one expected the rating to be super accurate, but spikes just throw off the average so badly, and going in and editing all the data yourself afterward kind of defeats the purpose of a self reporting system.

Can anyone confirm if this type of issue has been fixed in Watch OS3?

 

[exxxviii]

Can anyone confirm if this type of issue has been fixed in Watch OS3?

It is really not an issue. Never was... HR spikes, low HR, HR tracking to run cadence, etc. are common symptoms when a wrist optical HR sensor is not worn tightly enough. It can also occur when you have some skin characteristics that just throw them off. There are some folks who have this problem all the time. There are other people, like me, who never see it (except when I wear my AW loosely) and never have.

 

[Julien]

...With the Watch having random HR spikes that's pretty disappointing; when compared to other fitness devices. No one expected the rating to be super accurate, but spikes just throw off the average so badly, and going in and editing all the data yourself afterward kind of defeats the purpose of a self reporting system.

Can anyone confirm if this type of issue has been fixed in Watch OS3?

This is an old dug up thread that was started hen the Watch was first released. It is FAR outdated.

 

[Vanilla35]

It is really not an issue. Never was... HR spikes, low HR, HR tracking to run cadence, etc. are common symptoms when a wrist optical HR sensor is not worn tightly enough. It can also occur when you have some skin characteristics that just throw them off. There are some folks who have this problem all the time. There are other people, like me, who never see it (except when I wear my AW loosely) and never have.

Good to hear. It seems pretty clear to me, that the OP here was wearing it very tight, and still witnessing the same issue, in the same exact manner; leading me to believe it was a software issue.

 

[Julien]

Good to hear. It seems pretty clear to me, that the OP here was wearing it very tight, and still witnessing the same issue, in the same exact manner; leading me to believe it was a software issue.

The OP was also running wOS 1.0 (OLD outdated thread) and this was so early most did not know proper optical watch band techniques. I think this may have even been before Apple posted this page: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204665

 

[exxxviii]

Good to hear. It seems pretty clear to me, that the OP here was wearing it very tight, and still witnessing the same issue, in the same exact manner; leading me to believe it was a software issue.

It may just have been a user-specific issue where the optical sensor just had trouble seeing his blood flow reliably. It is pretty tough to draw any conclusions until you wear one yourself. For me, optical wrist HRM sensors work great. But I have also read a lot of others who have difficulty.

 

[Vanilla35]

The OP was also running wOS 1.0 (OLD outdated thread) and this was so early most did not know proper optical watch band techniques. I think this may have even been before Apple posted this page: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204665

While I would like to believe that it was simply fixed through an update, we don't know that for certain through this thread alone . I haven't done thorough research, but if it's pointed out that an OS update fixed this same issue, then I would believe it.

It may just have been a user-specific issue where the optical sensor just had trouble seeing his blood flow reliably. It is pretty tough to draw any conclusions until you wear one yourself. For me, optical wrist HRM sensors work great. But I have also read a lot of others who have difficulty.

Right, I know for instance, weight lifting will never be anywhere near accurate due to obstruction of blood flow through arms during lifts. I do not own a HR sensor atm, so I'm just tossing around logic, but I appreciate you informing me of more real world likelihoods.

 

[exxxviii]

Right, I know for instance, weight lifting will never be anywhere near accurate due to obstruction of blood flow through arms during lifts. I do not own a HR sensor atm, so I'm just tossing around logic, but I appreciate you informing me of more real world likelihoods.

Bottom line is you really won't know until you have one of your own. But, the probability is that it will work for you, because I believe that they generally work for a majority of people.

But then I go back to my ultimate caveat that the AW totally sucks as an activity and fitness device. So, if you are active and familiar with other activity or fitness devices, and hoping to use the AW to measure your workouts, you will likely be disappointed. But, if activity or fitness tracking is new to you, then you may not notice the issues at all. The nut is that the HRM quality is somewhat moot, because the platform (supporting software) as a whole is not very good for activity or fitness tracking.

 

[Vanilla35]

Bottom line is you really won't know until you have one of your own. But, the probability is that it will work for you, because I believe that they generally work for a majority of people.

But then I go back to my ultimate caveat that the AW totally sucks as an activity and fitness device. So, if you are active and familiar with other activity or fitness devices, and hoping to use the AW to measure your workouts, you will likely be disappointed. But, if activity or fitness tracking is new to you, then you may not notice the issues at all. The nut is that the HRM quality is somewhat moot, because the platform (supporting software) as a whole is not very good for activity or fitness tracking.

Right