Is it me or the Fitbit?

[JustMe2021]

I have now had four incidences of my Fitbit showing that my heart rate has gone to zero and then spikes up to over 170s for over an hour as I sleep. I have contacted my doctor and taking steps to making sure it's not my heart, but I am scared. I realize my Fitbit is 2 years old, but can you think of a reason why it would spike my heart rate as I'm sleeping other than it being my actual HEART? 

It's not waking me up at 170 beats a minute for an hour--that's a pounding heart! Has anyone else had this happen? Am I laying on it weird? It's only happening while sleeping and it's NEVER happened before two weeks ago. Otherwise my Fitbit seems highly accurate!

[JustMe2021]

OK I am having some serious anxiety over this. I finally joined tonight and asked about my particular Fitbit model in case others were having this problem. I'm not seeing it.

I have checked old messages for others with this problem. No one seems to have the one I am having and that scares me. 

I've been wearing my Fitbit Alta consistently for 2 years. I have gotten a minimum of 30 minutes active exercise every day for 2 years May 25. YAY. Let's just say I'm looking at this thing all the time. Two weeks ago I realized when I woke up that I'd already earned my active minutes for the day. Say whaaa? Sure enough around 4 AM my heart rate shot up like a bat outta hell and stayed around 160s to 170s for  over an hour. Then it gradually returned to my resting rate around 80.

This has now happened two more times during sleep. The sleep reading says I am in 'deep sleep' when this is happening. All times over an hour, rate stays consistently above 160 (190 this past weekend) and then, about an hour later, goes back down to normal. I never wake up during these episodes. I have no recollection of bad dreams. 

Today it happened during a nap in the middle of the day. 

I am honestly scared to go to sleep at night. I've contacted my doctor. I've had an EKG, I wore a Holter monitor for 2 days, and I am scheduled for a sleep study, though the doctor has told me that sleep apnea is typically a short spike in rate until you gasp for air and then it returns to normal. My husband says I don't typically snore and don't wake up or toss and turn often. 

The good news? I am happy to say that I had an episode while wearing the Holter monitor this weekend! The bad news? They say it takes at least a couple weeks to have the data read. So I'm waiting....

What could be causing this? Sleeping weird on the Fitbit? I don't know! I'm scared. Talk me down, guys!

[Odyssey13]

Evening @JustMe2021  your posts were merged, so you can get responses in one thread. It was good that you contacted your doctor, as your Fitbit is not a medical device. You have the same Alta HR that I have and haven't had the spikes you've described. Since you're looking at your device and I imagine your app all the time, I'd suggest not looking at it too closely. Since you've been in touch with your healthcare professional and they are aware of your anxiety about this situation, that's where you need to address your concerns. I'm sure you're frightened, but only because you don't know what's going on and that can make a person feel ill at ease. You have your husband's support and your doctor's team there for you. I've notified a moderator who may have more information to make you more comfortable. Please, don't be afraid to get some rest. You need your sleep!

[JohnnyRow]

First, since you have talked to your doctor about this, they would have told you if it is likely something to be terrified of so don't worry.

And great that you got an episode captured with Halter monitor.

I'm not a medical professional or anything close to it, so take this with a grain of salt, but one thing I thought of is possibility of a heart rhythm abnormality aFib (atrial fibrillation) that can cause the heart to race.  For some people it comes and goes (paroxysimal).  It is fairly common and treatable.  The Holter monitor would detect that.  I don't know about it only coming at night, maybe tied to sleep apnea, which sleep study would detect.

Of course also s good chance it's just the Fitbit going crazy for a bit, maybe your sleep position.

In any case, it sounds like you have gotten good medical advice from your doctor and are getting the right tests, so I would say there is no cause for you to be alarmed.

[JustMe2021]

Thank you for the response! One thing I liked about my doctor is she said not to be embarrassed that I'm alarmed by a reading (I was, like, well I feel OK but my Fitbit says...).  She said they are a very handy tool in discovering things we may have never known until things got worse! 

I appreciate your kind words. I am trying not to feel anxiety, but when it's your heart you know how it can be. ❤️  

[JustMe2021]

Your first sentence was PERFECT for me. Yes, I trust my doctor and she didn't freak out. I tend to agree with you that it's atrial fibrillation of some sort. I wonder what kick-started that to start happening, but hey, things happen. I'll update this post when I get some answers. Thank you!

[JuanFitbit]

Hi @JohnnyRow @Odyssey13 ! Nice to see you around. Thank you for sharing the information. 

@JustMe2021 ! A warm welcome to the Community! Thank you for sharing your experience with us. 

As mentioned by Odyssey13  Fitbit trackers are not medical devices and not recommended for diagnostics.

That being said, the results with the tracker reflected the study with the Halter monitor. 

I'm glad that you took the initiative to check with a medical expert. As she explained you, at this time the situation is not severe to panic and that she could explain it. As you mentioned, it might take a few weeks of study to get to the reason of this, and I hope it's nothing big but something we make unconsciously. 

As you already are under medical supervision, feel asure that they will find out the reason of the spikes. So keep calm, try to sleep relaxed. 

Please don't be afraid to sleep, as this is a very important part of the daily routine to recover your energies and body! 

Good luck and keep us posted. 

[JustMe2021]

Thank you for the encouragement. I wish the Holter monitor results would hurry up, but in the mean time I am trying not to make things worse by worry. 🙂  I appreciate this community!

[Odyssey13]

@JustMe2021  we all have our various issues. My dad said he never worried unless his checking account got to a certain number. I know one woman who has trouble with butterflies, which is based on something that happened to her as a child. You don't snore, which is a good thing and if you did, your husband would probably be nudging you at night. There are times we all get a bit jittery thinking too much when we ought to just be grateful for what we have. You'll be fine and there's always someone around on the forums.