Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Do I need ECG or is it a gimmick?
- Thread starter Lizziejh
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
works for me all the time.
I've had 5 heart procedures/operations, if something feels off I check and one day 3 years ago it showed something was wrong.
The watch sometimes classifies readings as that. I've had it happen when my heartbeat is still pretty high after exercising.
My Series 5 has this bug as well. Not fixed even after watchOS 7. It might have a lot to do with the reality that my heart rate has always been higher than most people, and verified 'normal for me' by doctors over time. I've been to hospitals over it (not due to illness, but to actually have my ECG readings done overnight a few times.)
Fall Detection sucks though. It false-triggers all the darned time I might have to disable it. Use a hammer? you've fallen. Smacked a fly? yup, you fell. Angry and fist to the desk? yup. another fall. It happens so often I have to disable it. I slipped on the ice and fell on my butt last winter. Quite painful, but not a peep from the watch. So it triggers false-positive so often to be useless, and doesn't work when it needs to (when I actually fell). I thought by telling it over and over 'I'm OK' and 'I did not fall' would train it, but it doesn't appear to improve. Once, it thought I fell when clapping my hands at a sporting event.
So, an ECG that doesn't work for most people, getting 'inconclusive' for no reason (detecting AFIB shouldn't matter if your resting rate is in the upper 90s or not, it should only detect the irregularity between beats!) and fall detection that triggers 90% false positive, failing the one time I actually fell so I no longer trust it. You decide if the upgrade is worth it.
Inconclusive readings have a number of possible causes. For example, you will get inconclusive readings for heart rates under 50 or over 100. My resting heart rate is about 48 so I have to move around a little bit before taking a reading or I get the occasional "inconclusive". It could also result from wearing the watch too loosely or from other conditions the app isn't programmed to detect. I've also heard some physiological factors for certain people can cause inconclusive readings due to insufficient electrical signals.
Aside from when I've taken readings when my heart rate went below 50bpm I've never had any problems with the ECG app.
Also, I have a Series 6 now which replaced a Series 4 and I've never once had fall detection engage falsely over the past three years. If I was getting false fall detections while hammering in nails or pounding on desks I'd file a case with Apple and get it replaced since that sounds like a hardware defect.
Aside from when I've taken readings when my heart rate went below 50bpm I've never had any problems with the ECG app.
Also, I have a Series 6 now which replaced a Series 4 and I've never once had fall detection engage falsely over the past three years. If I was getting false fall detections while hammering in nails or pounding on desks I'd file a case with Apple and get it replaced since that sounds like a hardware defect.
Last edited:
It was inconclusive 100% the time for me. It gives the little 'tape' reading and it looks perfectly normal. I just can't use or trust it. Maybe a later watch will release that overcomes it (my normal resting rate, for myself, is upper 90s to low 100s. Lowest I have had when awake was 87) However the fact my resting rate is high shouldn't matter. AFIB or other conditions or simply showing a normal rhythm shouldn't depend on a certain BPM reading.
It does the full countdown without interruption and shows my rate quite steady floating between 99-103 bpm, but comes up 'inconclusive' which to me is utter crap. If the doctors at Yale could understand it so should Apple. No wonder it's not in every country--doesn't even work right.
Look, it can accomodate folks in wheelchairs or even visually impaired folks. Apple is supposed to be #1 in human interface design. Simply knowing if it's a sinus rhythm or not isn't rocket science--a first year Medial student could figure it out!
I didn't buy the Series 5 for ECG or the AOD. I got it because I wanted the Infograph face. I thought the Series 3 had it because the demo for the Series 3 was in front of a huge graphic of the Apple Watch showing that face. That's really it. The only reason I got a Series 5. I just wish I could remove the broken ECG app.
It does the full countdown without interruption and shows my rate quite steady floating between 99-103 bpm, but comes up 'inconclusive' which to me is utter crap. If the doctors at Yale could understand it so should Apple. No wonder it's not in every country--doesn't even work right.
Look, it can accomodate folks in wheelchairs or even visually impaired folks. Apple is supposed to be #1 in human interface design. Simply knowing if it's a sinus rhythm or not isn't rocket science--a first year Medial student could figure it out!
I didn't buy the Series 5 for ECG or the AOD. I got it because I wanted the Infograph face. I thought the Series 3 had it because the demo for the Series 3 was in front of a huge graphic of the Apple Watch showing that face. That's really it. The only reason I got a Series 5. I just wish I could remove the broken ECG app.
Last edited:
Personal choice really, I don't use it on mine but it's there if I need it. Always on display doesn't appear to affect battery life, and it can be switched off if necessary
Yep apparently the app has an upper and lower limit beyond which it will show as "inconclusive". Happens to me occasionally also.
The automated a-fib algorithms are not accurate if your resting heart rate is that high. Even the automated analysis of a 12-lead ECG in a doctor's office isn't going to be reliable with a rate that high. Will require a human to interpret. There's a limit to what Apple can do with FDA-approved algorithms.
It works quite well in many situations, but will not (and cannot) work for everyone in a single-lead wrist watch format. It's not crap, but it does have its limits and unless you want to strap yourself up with additional electrodes, it will not improve much.
It also will sometimes tell me it can't do its analysis because my resting rate is sometimes under 50. Again, just the way the algorithms work.
But one must be extremely still for it to get a good reading, regardless.
It is not a gimmick. My wife and I are both in our 70s. She suffers from Super Ventricilar tachycardia. She gets an attack from this from to time to time. It is a condition for some reason the hearts races over 150 beats for some reason. The watch can catch this. We have sent ECG to her doctor from phone vrs going to the ED.
Also sort of off the subject I can recommend an app Heart Reports. I record my blood pressure on my phone. With this app I produce a pdf of my BP from the phone. Heart rate and Exercise from the watch. I have sent these reports to my doctor to get a handle on my high BP. Until this app I struggled to find a way to get the BP data off my phone.
Also sort of off the subject I can recommend an app Heart Reports. I record my blood pressure on my phone. With this app I produce a pdf of my BP from the phone. Heart rate and Exercise from the watch. I have sent these reports to my doctor to get a handle on my high BP. Until this app I struggled to find a way to get the BP data off my phone.
swingerofbirch
macrumors 68040
If you're interested in that feature you can look at Kardia AliveCor.
It's been around longer than the Apple Watch EKG.
The Apple Watch cannot diagnose a-fib above 120 bpm, which doesn't make sense as a-fib will almost always present that way until it is treated:
www.medpagetoday.com
Maybe now 150 bpm:
www.pcmag.com
(Again, having a bpm limit at all for a-fib doesn't make sense.)
I would still trust Kardia AliveCor more. They have both a single and six-lead option. It's been around for a long time and the algorithm is always getting better.
You can also send off your recordings from the Kardia app to a cardiologist to have them read. I received a diagnosis for SVT that way. I also like that I can put it directly on my chest and get a very clean reading (you're supposed to use it with your hands), but if you know what you are doing you can get different precordial lead readings across your chest.
It's been around longer than the Apple Watch EKG.
The Apple Watch cannot diagnose a-fib above 120 bpm, which doesn't make sense as a-fib will almost always present that way until it is treated:
Opinion | Apple Watch Can't Catch Fast Afib
The Skeptical Cardiologist has good news about another wearable, though
www.medpagetoday.com
Maybe now 150 bpm:
Apple Watch ECG App Will Soon Work for Those With Higher Heart Rates
The Apple Watch ECG app does not currently work with heart rates over 120 BPM, but watchOS 7.2 will reportedly expand that range to 150 BPM.
(Again, having a bpm limit at all for a-fib doesn't make sense.)
I would still trust Kardia AliveCor more. They have both a single and six-lead option. It's been around for a long time and the algorithm is always getting better.
You can also send off your recordings from the Kardia app to a cardiologist to have them read. I received a diagnosis for SVT that way. I also like that I can put it directly on my chest and get a very clean reading (you're supposed to use it with your hands), but if you know what you are doing you can get different precordial lead readings across your chest.
You need to be seated, with your arm resting over a table, the watch band tightened and your heart rate between 50 to 120 beats per minute to get a good result. If you are already doing this and the results are inconclusive, there are two possible causes:
1. If the watch doesn't display a correct EKG on-screen, either you're moving too much (unlikely if your arm is resting on a table), the signal is too faint (i.e. beacuse you have tattoos on your wrist, or a number of other physiological conditions that may cause a lower than normal signal even on medical-grade sensors), or your watch is not working properly and should be sent for repair.
2. If the watch does display a normal looking (to a non-medical person) EKG on-screen, without any apparent noise messing the signal, and the results keep being inconclusive, you may want to double-check by seeing a doctor. Per Apple's documentation:
Aside from that, OP, totally not a gimmick. See attached image, one sample ECG from myself. Signal is pretty amazing for a device that you wear on your wrist and it will catch an A-Fib with 99.3% specificity and 98.5% sensitivity.
Attachments
