Are the Afib notifications real-time on Charge 6?

[d1olph]

My mom is 72 and I wanted a wearable for her where she’d be able to track her heart sinus rhythm, sleep quality and a few other health statuses. Since she uses an Android phone the Fitbit Charge 6 seems to make a lot of sense.

I wanted to know if the irregular heart rate alert and the A-fib alerts are in real-time or only when you do the ECG tests. Also does it alert emergency contacts (for e.g. me and my sis) when it detects such an irregularity? And does it monitor blood pressure? If not the Charge 6 which other Fitbit product would do this?

Any insights would be helpful. Thanks

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Odyssey13]

Hi @d1olph sounds like you and your sister are taking good care of your mother. No Fitbit product monitors blood pressure. It can't alert anyone to any irregularities. A-fib is available on more devices than the Charge 6. My Inspire 3 would alert me should I show an indication of A-fib, but lacks the ability for me to do the ECG test. The minimum operating system for the Android phones is 9, which I have. Over time, 9 won't be supported, so you might want to make sure the phone is newer. I'm already thinking of a newer Android phone for Christmas.

[LZeeW]

@d1olph  I have some clarification for you.  By A-fib alerts, I think you are referring to the Irregular Rhythm Notifications.  They use the green LED lights and monitor background heart rate.  Alerts aren't instantaneous.  For example, my Irregular Rhythm Notifications history says I haven't received any notifications, but it was analyzed an hour ago.  The ECG app is a different feature and uses hardware to run a 30 second ECG.  So this is something that the user does on their own.

There is no way for any Fitbit to contact other family or emergency contacts.  @Odyssey13 is correct, no Fitbit measures blood pressure.

[the_froglady]

Just to expand on the previous responses.  If you are in the U.S., there is currently NO wrist worn tracking device, phone, etc. that has been approved for blood pressure monitoring.  

[NORMNESS]

You, Odyssey13 seem to be an "expert" on heart health and the Fitbit...........
I'm thinking of buying a FITBIT (3 or 6) for ONLY one reason.....to monitor my heart for signs of AFIB mainly, but not restricted to other heart irregularities
IF  I wear the FITBIT (3 or 6) for an uninterrupted 24 hour + period, can I download the data to my Apple desktop and look for signs of brief periods of AFIB during the wearing period?

IF you can't answer this, can you steer me to someone at FITBIT who can ?

[LZeeW]

Hello @NORMNESS and welcome to the Community.  I'm sorry, but there is no way to download this data to try and interpret it yourself.  It doesn't matter if you use a Mac or a PC.  The algorithm requires computerized analysis of the heart rate data.

You wrote Fitbit 3 or 6 and I suspect you are asking about the Inspire 3 or Charge 6.  Both have the Irregular Rhythm Notification feature.  The Charge 6 has the hardware to perform a 30 second ECG.  The ECG app gives one of three results: normal sinus rhythm, atrial fibrillation, or inconclusive.  It doesn't detect any other arrhythmias. 

[NORMNESS]

Chart heart rhythms for 24 hours?

Frequently AFIB manifests itself for only seconds or minutes
at a time throughout the day (then goes back to normal). That's why I need
a continuous readout throughout the day in order to spot it !
Is This possible to do............with which model ?

[Odyssey13]

@NORMNESS  the Mac person is @LZeeW and has already replied. If you're thinking of getting a Fitbit only for the afib feature, have you asked your health care professional about their opinion?

[LZeeW]

@NORMNESS   All Fitbits record heart rate on a beat to beat basis.  This is why all current models and several older models offer Irregular Rhythm Notifications.  But there is no way for you to download the beat to beat data.  Your heart beats an average of 100,000 times a day.  That's a lot of data to try and analyze on your own.

I'm well aware of how Afib manifests.  My husband developed Afib several years ago, before this feature existed.  It started as paroxysmal Afib and became persistent a year or so after that.  He ultimately had an ablation.  I also participated in the Fitbit Heart Study that developed this feature.

Please take a look at the screenshots posted in this thread to see what a notification looks like.  

[Flybit]

@LZeeW: "But there is no way for you to download the beat to beat data." 

I have AFib (hospital-confirmed) and while I'm not sure the app's data export allows you to download the beat-to-beat data of an AFib report, I do know that it allows you to drill down and visualize the data to sub-second levels. Here's a screen grab of that from my Android phone:

 My GP was quite impressed with this!

[LZeeW]

@Flybit   Your screenshot is similar to the ones in my link.  Your timestamps are using a 24 hour clock.  Each timestamp is HR:MIN:SEC:MSEC.

[Flybit]

That's right, we use a 24h clock where I live, which isn't in the U.S. 😊

By the way, I since had time to check what the Fitbit "takeout" data exports and AFib report data is just about the only metric it doesn't export. It even dumps raw ECG data. It's strange that they'd over look this but at least it's accessible to visually inspect.

[Debra1954]

My charge 4 alerted me that I was in A-Fib! My only symptom was that I felt extremely tired.Went to a cardiologist who confirmed what my Fitbit alerted me to

[RiekoC]

Hello @Debra1954 

Thanks for sharing your story that your Charge 6 helped you realize you had a medical issue and saw your doctor. We're glad to know that you're getting the care you need.