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I had a reaction to a flu shot a few years ago - heart rate went over 190 for over 10 minutes recorded on Apple Watch and I verified with manual heart rate measurement. Just felt a little funny is all. Went to cardiologist many months later as had never been to one before just in case. She laughed because it was no big deal - I didn't feel faint, I didn't have shortness of breath. She said next year go get your flu shot again and don't worry about the reaction if it occurs. She did run tests and even some more because I wanted to be 1000% sure. Bottom line she said I'll never need to see a cardiologist again for the rest of my life and push your heart even more than I do now get it up over 150 and even 170 with intense exercise. One thing I did learn, males should get an under $100 'heart CT scan with calcification score' to see heart attach risk and as a baseline for future scans. My score was zero which was another reason she said no worries for me thankfully and also echo stress test too. She also said primary care and ER docs get all concerned about a lot of heart issues that are really no big deal. So I see these stories of high heart rates and minor possible arrhythmias and think it is overblown. We all get an extra beat here and there and don't usually feel them at all. If resting you have over 120 bpm most of the time, sure there is something wrong in the electrical pathway but it isn't like you will just drop dead like from a massive heart attack - spend the $100 and get a heart ct scan with calcification done if you are male.
 


February is American Heart Month, and Apple marked the occasion today with a Newsroom feature highlighting how the Apple Watch potentially saved the life of 59-year-old Bob March. In short, the Apple Watch alerted March to irregular heart rate readings that ultimately led to doctors discovering that he had arrhythmia.

apple_heart-health-month_lori-and-bob_02032021_big.jpg.large_2x.jpg

Bob and Lori March

Bob was gifted the Apple Watch by his wife Lori for their anniversary. "We truly believe that it saved his life," she said. "It doesn't get any bigger than that."

The story:March ultimately underwent successful heart surgery, and after a few months, he is now thankful to be back to running alongside his dog. It's yet another example of how the Apple Watch's health features potentially saved a life.

Article Link: Apple Watch Alerts Man to Heart Condition in Yet Another Potentially Life-Saving Story
 
and you will still get people saying , "apple products are garbage , over priced ... " this $399 watch saved the guys LIFE !! are you kidding me , why on earth would not every company buy a iwatch for the staff to promote health/safety & fitness . Beyond me man, even if you hate Apple . IDK, seems silly why you wouldnt have one , next series could have a glucose monitor , like how crazy is that for diabetes issues.
 
Benefit of having the Apple watch, especially when getting older but also for top sporters, not the first time people collapse on a football field, happens a few times a year.

And then there's this.
I wasn't into the AppleWatch at all until...

Each and every year we have to decide which health insurance we contract, normally I would stay with the one I had since my birth, but this time I decided I had to change my life and get healthier.
My eye fell on an insurance with the added benefit of earning points using an iPhone for counting my steps a day or buying an Apple Watch through them and earn it back within 2 years.
So I did, the subscription cost €3.50 a month, first 4 months are free, by sporting, running, steps and/or heart rate I earn back about €20 a month, on top of that I can also get €5 voucher a week if I make my goal, €20 for an online retailer similar to amazon.
In total, €240 per annum vouchers and the value of the bought Apple Watch within 2 years, that's about €460 in 2 years.
So, €960 in 2 years total.

Added benefits:

Getting healthier.
Apple watch sensors.
Making money while getting fitter.
Not always behind TV or computer.
Outside more, air is cleaner than inside.
...
...
and so on.
 
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I got my 6 in late November and I noticed my pO2 had gone low about a week ago (as low as 78% when sleeping) and shortness of breath. My doctor found I’d had a sudden anemia with my Hct having dropped from 42 to 32%. This had happened noticeably about 12 years ago too.
Makes me wonder how many times in between this has occurred without my knowing?
 
I don’t know how these particular people get picked, or even known. Over two years ago, my watch alerted me to a problem. I ended up in the hospital, and I was told that if it weren’t for the warning my watch gave me, I could have had a heart attack around two days later.

i also had a catheter, and a couple of days after I got home, with that, my watch again alerted me. I had developed sepsis, so back in the hospital for another week. My specialist said that one more day, and I might not have survived.

i didn’t send a note to Apple about this, and I don’t know how people get selected. But I can pretty much say without question, that far more people are saved by their watches than we ever hear about.
You should submit feedback at Apple.com/feedback!! There’s not an area specifically for it, but you could do it under the Apple Watch section. I’m glad you are okay. I think I may get one for the grandparents, just in case. I’d rather pay $500 now than not see them next Christmas.
 
Are you very active with good cardio? Athletes usually have lower HR than normal due to strength of their heart.
Right, that’s not necessarily bad! Unless you have sleep apnea potentially but that’s rare unless you are elderly or overweight. Then it’s slightly more common. But I get that “below average” warning every few nights or so, so I wouldn’t be too worried. More about high heart rates.
 
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The Apple Watch has benefits and I wear mine every day. But some people posting seem like stock shills with dramatic statement that it saved his life when any doctors visit would have uncovered the high heart rate. Just talk to actual doctors and most will be candid about the minor things the Apple Watch is bringing to their offices. The Apple Watch is helpful - but life saver is a stretch as a reason to buy it. It works best for people with known heart issues to provide for a convenient monitor of heart rates, simple ECG and now blood oxygen. If Apple Watch can accurately detect blood glucose in the next gen then THAT would be a game changer for all the obese people in the U.S. and hopefully will also actually promote good lifestyle choices as most diabetes in the U.S. is preventable. COVID uncovered just how out of shape most Americans are - no doubt I could lose a few and working on it - but good lordy obesity is an epidemic and for morbidity obese even a cold virus can do them in let alone a novel virus like COVID where there is zero built up immunity to it. Normalizing obesity instead of getting healthy is the wrong way to and COVID just exposed that big time.... shame on the fat mag covers glorifying it as it is in fact NOT healthy. The Apple Watch needs an alert for the very very real risk of obesity!
 
Important advice:

Wear it during the night and charge it in the morning while getting ready.

Otherwise it can’t detect problems during sleep.

Additionally use a Apple Health integrated blood pressure monitor. This way you just measure your bp and the iPhone keeps your records without any action on your part.

———

Had two emergency heart surgeries in the last seven months.
 
honest question, couldn't any watch with a wrist HR tell you this? If for instance, you had a Garmin and were looking at the HR trend graph, wouldn't it show up there as well?
 
The Apple Watch is exactly what alerted me to my high heart rate while sleeping leading to my diagnosis of A-Fib over a year ago. When I told another doctor about this just a month ago, he said that I was the 2nd person THAT WEEK who told him that.
did it tell you directly, via a pop up or ECG or did you figure it out by looking a HR trend graph? I'm trying to discern what is a true out of the blue notification from the AW vs what can be figured out by any wrist HR and looking at trends.
 
honest question, couldn't any watch with a wrist HR tell you this? If for instance, you had a Garmin and were looking at the HR trend graph, wouldn't it show up there as well?
Yes. Any continuous monitor would show these things. I do know Apple works on trying to do samples too to detect patterns that may be indicative of an underlying problem. So Apple's work with that may be unique in that regard. But for an obvious issue like an arrhythmia with resting heart rate over 120 anything could find that including do a manual heart rate check with your fingers. I think from the photo that this guy being this "athlete" in the current day is overblown.
 
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The Apple Watch is exactly what alerted me to my high heart rate while sleeping leading to my diagnosis of A-Fib over a year ago. When I told another doctor about this just a month ago, he said that I was the 2nd person THAT WEEK who told him that.
The risks of AFib for most people with some level of it are overblown. It ain't like getting a heart attack!
 
Amazing story. Makes me want to get one, but I just don't like having gadgets on me.
I've known people who work in sensitive areas where they don't allow these types of gadgets, but it should work all other times.

I would like to get one, but I'd like to cut down on gadgets as well.
 
The Apple Watch has benefits and I wear mine every day. But some people posting seem like stock shills with dramatic statement that it saved his life when any doctors visit would have uncovered the high heart rate. Just talk to actual doctors and most will be candid about the minor things the Apple Watch is bringing to their offices. The Apple Watch is helpful - but life saver is a stretch as a reason to buy it. It works best for people with known heart issues to provide for a convenient monitor of heart rates, simple ECG and now blood oxygen. If Apple Watch can accurately detect blood glucose in the next gen then THAT would be a game changer for all the obese people in the U.S. and hopefully will also actually promote good lifestyle choices as most diabetes in the U.S. is preventable. COVID uncovered just how out of shape most Americans are - no doubt I could lose a few and working on it - but good lordy obesity is an epidemic and for morbidity obese even a cold virus can do them in let alone a novel virus like COVID where there is zero built up immunity to it. Normalizing obesity instead of getting healthy is the wrong way to and COVID just exposed that big time.... shame on the fat mag covers glorifying it as it is in fact NOT healthy. The Apple Watch needs an alert for the very very real risk of obesity!
Good points, but I think it's the early notification of something you might not notice yourself about your health, that is the key here. I mean, how often do you go to the doctor? For most, not unless something is wrong, or otherwise probably a yearly checkup (for myself, much rarer than that). So if your Watch prompts you that something is in need of attention, yes, it is valuable. Or I guess you could just go visit a doctor every month just in case.
 
Still not sure if the watch alerted him though. Looks like he noticed it and did due diligence.

As for the overnight heart rate alerts. I occasionally get the under 50 bpm for 10 min. alerts (once a month on average). It’s not a big deal. But don’t plan on lowering alert to 45.

But anyone getting alerts about under 40? That is a very low heart rate and shouldn’t be ignored.
 
Still not sure if the watch alerted him though. Looks like he noticed it and did due diligence.
Thats the thing, I get the impression for someone who is not monitoring or otherwise oblivious to their health, the AW giving you a pop up is a huge benefit. It makes you notice. But that is not the same as it detecting something that would be seen on any other wrist HR trending graph?

I have a Garmin, and no, it won't do a pop-up out of the blue and tell me something is wrong, but I can see trends in Garmin Connect. So I'm genuinely curious if I'm missing something - and - if its the ECG on the AW providing the benefit, the basic HR graphs, or just because someone is seeing it for the first time.
 
Suggest you consider wearing the Apple Watch while sleeping.

To manage battery I do the following:
Sleeping
Watch set to do not disturb
Theater mode on
Charge watch before bed one hour to full. My Apple Watch only uses about 15% of the battery charge while sleeping as configured.

Helped me:
At rest, sleeping, my watch detected random heart rate spikes.
Dr. Did a bunch of tests and found the problem. Could have been serious. Medication working.
Very glad I decided to monitor sleep. A bonus, get a sleep app. The one I use ‘autosleep’. Gives you an analysis of your sleep quality. Interesting and no extra work involved.

Give wearing the watch during sleep some consideration.
You know, I appreciate your feedback quite a bit -- thank you. I will give it a shot, in fact I had considered it fairly recently, as in the past week.

In my case, I have had long-term hardcore insomnia, in waves of intensity, for almost 15 years. It would be interesting to have more data on what my nights are actually looking like. One of my concerns has been, will the watch bother my while sleeping (just the physical sensation of wearing it -- I'm a VERY light sleeper). But I am taking this week off of work, so it's a perfect time to give it a shot! And I will heed your tip on theater mode, which makes tons of sense.

Thanks again! 😁🙏
 
I have a range of very expensive watches, my cheap Apple watch is all I wear now.
LOL I know what you mean! I tell myself that after the pandemic, the Swisses will come out again at least once in a while (and they will). But in this almost totally-utilitarian mode? Apple Watch has been it.
 
Did you consult a physician? A rate below 40 for 10 minutes is low no matter what your conditioning level.
Yes, it is low but, not uncommon during sleep.

I have had the same alert numerous times. When I go to the doctor and the nurse takes my stats and see how low my resting rate is, the nurse usually starts getting anxious for me until I tell her I run a lot.
 
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