Monitoring Heartrate

[JennieMiler]

Im looking for an app that will track my heart rate. I'm having some episodes that Indicate tachycardia and I'd like to track it. Is there something I can use??

[SunsetRunner · Accepted solution]

@JennieMiler it was said here many times that Fitbit devices are not medical equipment so I wouldn't rely on them having real medical condition. I would rather get BT HR monitor using more accurate technology ( ECG, optical but worn differently, far from wrist ) which can connect to your phone and use mobile apps to track and analyze data. The external monitors usually can connect and be used by variety of apps which can provide you lot more information. My wife sometimes borrows my chest strap for similar reason ( although she has no medical condition but she is always concerned ). Such devices very often have own memory so you don't need your phone to be nearby and you can extract data later. To test my strap once I just went into offline recording and worn it for 24 hours. Later extracted data with no problem. It may not he as convenient as watch but definitely more reliable. Mind that watches are worn on wrist and wrist is probably the worst place to wear the sensor if you want it to be reliable. 

[laropjb]

The following thread has some discussions on devices and apps that may give you more of what you are looking for.  https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Get-Moving/warning-if-you-have-AFIB/td-p/2382777 .

[JennieMiler]

I never once said it was medical equipment. However if I pay $200 for something that's supposed to track my heart rate I would at least expect it to track all of my heart rates not just my resting rate. 

[LiliyaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @JennieMiler! It's great to see you around @SunsetRunner @SunsetRunner @-Astrid- @laropjb. I am sorry for the delayed response. 

@JennieMiler I appreciate your interest in tracking your heart rate and sharing your feedback and experience. Thank you for your time and efforts. I see that @-Astrid- and @laropjb provided tips to see your heart rate details. Are you able to see this information on the app? For more information about tracking your heart rate, please see this help article: How do I track my heart rate with my Fitbit device?

Regarding the extra steps you see, Fitbit devices have a finely-tuned algorithm for step counting. As @-Astrid- mentioned correctly, when working at a desk, cooking, or performing other activities with arm movements, your device may add some steps. For most customers, the number of extra steps added by arm-based movement isn’t significant when compared to your overall stats. A good solution will be changing the wrist setting to "dominant". This setting decreases the sensitivity of step counting and should reduce any over counting of steps when your body is not moving. For more information about accuracy, please see this help article: How accurate are Fitbit devices?

@-Astrid- thank you for sharing your experience with your Fitbit Versa and Customer Support. I totally understand how you are feeling. I appreciate your patience and understanding while we work to improve your experience. Thank you for letting me know that you bought your Versa 2 months ago. Fitbit has a 45-day return policy, so anything purchased directly from Fitbit can be returned for a refund for any reason within 45 days of shipment. You can read our full return policy on our website by going to http://www.fitbit.com/returns. I appreciate your participation in the Forums and providing helpful tips and suggestions. 

@laropjb @SunsetRunner and @SunsetRunner thank you for your participation and sharing the useful tips and information! 

I'll be around if you need further assistance.

[JennieMiler]

Thank you for your reply but unfortunately I have not been able to do what I was hoping to do with Fitbit Versa. It seems the only thing this thing can do is track my resting rate. 

As for the steps....they are crazy wrong. I've taken the advice and changed my settings to dominant even though it's not and it still tracks steps I've never made while driving and sitting at my desk.

I have to say that I feel this was a total waste of our money. 

[LiliyaFitbit]

Hi @JennieMiler, thank you for your reply. 

I am sorry to hear about your disappointment, our team is always working on improving our devices and user experiences, and your comments are always welcome. I would like to confirm if you've tried to tap the tile with the resting heart rate? You should be able to see your heart rate graph for the day. In addition to that, to check the heart rate for specific activities you can tap the Exercise tile and then tap on the specific activity. 

I'm sorry to hear you continue experiencing trouble with the extra steps recorded. Unfortunately, it is expected device behavior at the moment to count steps during a driving activity. To delete the extra steps recorded, you can manually log the driving activity as explained here, to override data tracked during that period of time. 

It is also possible that the device will count some steps while performing other activities, but the number should not be exaggerated. Remember the device tries to give you credit for all movements throughout the day. 

Please keep me posted.

[JennieMiler]

Yes I have tapped the tile with the resting heart rate.  It gives me my resting heart rate only...not any elevated heart rate which is what I'm trying to monitor.  And I do realize this is not any kind of medical equipment.  The elevated heart rates I'm concerned about are not during any kind of exercise or strenuous activity, they usually occur when I'm at rest and relaxed.  Other than tracking my steps, the ability to track my heart rate was one of the main reasons why I decided to buy a Fitbit. 

I appreciate all the replies I've received and all the help I've been given.  Unfortunately this doesn't seem to be something that my Fitbit Versa is capable of doing. 

[Gunstick]

Hi

I just was on chat with support on exactly this problem.

And what fitbit calls "resting heart rate" is in fact your heart rate!

They call it resting heart rate to differentiate it from the heart rate during a recorded exercise.

On the fitbit app, it shows in 5 minute averaged intervals.

On the website, this is not available! Only resting heart rate is shown.

It is possible visualize and download the raw data to do your own graphs in a speadsheet with this browser app:

https://iccir919.github.io/pulseWatch/public/index.html

Yesterday I had unusual high rate, and on that app I can see that.

What you probably still won't see is short peaks as it's averaging per minute.

[Gunstick]

it is available on the website. on the graph, click on the steps symbol, it turns into a drop down menu, and there you see a heart symbol.

Yeah, usability is not something fitbit cares about.