HR monitoring on Alta HR

[Fryguy1111]

This is my first time using a smart watch, a Fitbit Alta HR (my wife ‘s from many years ago). I’m just starting to figure it out. The main reason I’ve decided to try using this watch is due to my latest health concerns. 11 years ago, I was 110% healthy, running 10k’s (I was 50 at the time). Then my health went to 💩😉. I got cancer (Multiple Myeloma), got a rare disease called Castleman’s Disease, cardio issues (PSVT - https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22232-paroxysmal-supraventricular-tachycardia-psvt) and a possible kidney issue. In any case, my biggest concern is the PSVT as my heart rate goes crazy at times…in a 3 week monitored test, I had 73 incidents with my heart rate shooting to over 230bpm…a bit high for a 61yo, haha.

Here’s the big question. How accurate is the HR monitoring on my Alta HR? How often does it poll my pulse? Can it track an incident that only runs a few seconds? On my Fitbit dashboard, I can see a few incidents of my HR shooting to a bit over 140bpm. I’m pretty sure in actuality, it’s a bit higher as it’s always been higher in the past. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated as I couldn’t find anything on the internet or on Fitbit’s website. Thank you!

Moderator Edit: Formatting

[alexthecat]

@Fryguy1111 the Alta HR is a very basic activity tracker. It is not a smartwatch and it is definitely not a medical device. I would not recommend relying on it for the type of information that you need. 

[Fryguy1111]

Thank you for your advise and concern, Amanda.  I was only asking about the heart rate polling on my body using this Alta HR.  I definitely have no plans on using this watch for any serious monitoring, but to get a log for my own sake to see any long term changes or trends.  Thanks again for the reply 🙂