Early Warning & SOS Alerts for Heart Attacks (or other health issues)

[Desh]

Research indicates (refer to links below) that it is possible to detect potential Heart Attack based on Heart Rate and Heart Rate zones. Fitbit watches constantly monitor heart rate and theoretically it should be possible to detect potential heart attack based on abnormal heart rate and resting heart rate's trend.

1. Emergency SOS: Fitbit device should trigger alert on paired mobile phone which sends out a SOS message along with geo-location to pre-configured address to ensure timely medical assistance.
2. Preventive Alert: Fitbit should alert the user if it sense potential Heart Attack based on current & resting heart rate patterns or change to a different heart rate zone.

Reference:

• Warning Signs of Heart Failure
• Resting Heart Rate in Cardiovascular Disease

Moderator Edit: Added Labels

[JudyLom]

I really like the idea that the bracelet could send a warining.  What would be even better is if the bracelet could take your blood pressure and track it too just like it does the pulse.  I realize this may be approaching a crossover between fitness tracker and medical bracelet, but since they havent gotten the medical bracelet to customers and you already have a bracelet that tracks sleep and pulse, this would be a nice addition.  I have white coat syndrome and need to keep a log of my blood pressures and this bracelet would be the best thing for me if it did that.  I dont believe there is anything on the market just yet that does blood pressures in a tracking bracelet like yours so you would have a first.  It would also be great if you could email the data to your doctor.

[Traider]

Clearly a must have function. dialing address or street location via GPS

a major seller.

[AliBaby]

Great idea! Optional of course, as I have a very low pulse and low blood pressure and have a tendency to make any heart monitor in hospital [for example] go off!

It would be great for someone with a known heart condition and if kept switched 'on' could potentially save someone with an undiagnosed condition from sudden heart failure.

[SebSurge]

Good idea but I have found that at times I have got a wrong reading for my heart rate. This could cause problems and trigger a false alarm...

[JudyLom]

There would have to be a mechanism that would catch false readings, but send a warning to 911 or family that there is a potential emergency if the values met certain criteria that was established for that person/patient..

[Drakuun]

Great idea, unfeasable though.

Fitbit could never release such a function as a company because it would imply that it could predict heart attacks which they will never be officially able to back.

It might be possible though to have such a function if fitbit would allow users to add code themselves somehow.

Fitbit will not be liable for this user added content and thus everyone is happy.

[Rainbird]

Heart failure is a different condition to a heart attack.  In heart failure there is a gradual deterioration over months or years so other signs such as breathlessness would send the patient to the doctor. The patient would be unlikely to be exercising due to the breathlessness and exhauston.

A heart attack is an acute condition and if the heart beat stops there would be no way of knowing if the wearer had simply removed the device.  It takes a special medical device with many sensors on the chest to show the heart beat is abnormal and the heart may stop due to an impending heart attack.

A great idea but well beyond the scope of a wrist device.

[Drakuun]

Heart attack or heart failure, my comment still stays. Fitbit can not make medical claims as they will face lawsuits. Best way to deal with this is have a third party develop this.

[Hea]

I have had 2 80% heart blockage . 1 was fixed with a stent! The other with meds! I took a ton of meds just to walk a 1/4 ! Now just a half pill and I biked 30 miles the other day. I walk 3 to 5 miles a day!! I would like to hear Alarm when I reach my heart rate goal!! Set at 140 for alarm or higher or lower!! Oh I had a brain aneurysm a year ago!! Doing good! I would like alarm on heart beat!!

[JamesWN]

This is something I want to see added. I do not have high blood presure but if I did this would be super handy.

[MelyssaRose]

I think it's a nice idea but not always plausible. Maybe warn the user but not directly 911 it could be an issue with false readings. I for example, have arrhythmia and set off hospital equipment often.

[ValerieAnne]

I got on to request an SOS feature myself, not specifically for heart problems but I love the idea and def think it's needed!! Mine would've been for any emergency (ie out walking and can't get to phone/being followed, etc).. If nothing else, especially with heart rate moniter the heart SOS should be implimented. 

[ohmghimire]

If not have body tempreture reader would be useful...

[JustJFerg]

I've seen every kind of heart attack....they all present differently. Some regular HR, some fast, some slow. It's NOT the rate, it's the rhythm. This would be impossible to find with an activity tracker. -signed, a nurse who works on heart attack patients daily.

[CindyFitbit]

Hey @Desh thanks for taking the time to share with us this great idea. I really loved this suggestion, I think it could save lives and that's amazing!  

If you have any other suggestions, don't hesitate in visiting our Feature Request board again, we love to hear from you! 

[CoD]

I was just thinking of posting this, when I saw your suggestion. If FitBit allowed us devs to access the heart rate functionality of the band every, say, 5 seconds, to get a decent image of someone's hr, and then it would be possible to trigger events like sending emergency responses. TL;DR: Give us an api.

[SunsetRunner]

...and would add a whole new meaning to Surge

[Calce]

Also you could make it optional to use the feature, showing explicit consent for either preventive - that would be shown to you or SMS sent to preset numbers and emergency which could either be sent to same given preregistration led numbers - family/physician/nurse etc, not necessarily 911 or other center directly

[Btfd2e93]

 love this idea.  how do i vote for this?

i'd like to set thresholds (ie HR too low or HR too high) and be able to send notifications to my paired mobile phone.

[tmarcello]

Last night I had a dream that caused my heartrate to go above 160 bpm. I have no idea what its peak was because my fitbit failed to track this at approx. 0630, but I did press my side button on my fitbit within a few seconds of my dream. As I said, it was 160. About 3-4 minutes later, I went back to bed and my heartrate was still 80 (nomal for me is in the upper 60's). Later, upon waking from my slumber at approx. 0830, I went into my fitbit app on my iphone to review my heartrate history for that time and it showed my high was 72. My fitbit never even tracked those moments??? So, other than accuracy, I purpose that someone adds the option for vibration alerts when our heartrate reaches a certain level (either too high or too low). Implimenting such a feature can be life saving to people. Especially those that might enter into a coma. In my case, I would have like for my fitbit to wake me from my horrible dream that was causing my heartrate to go through the roof. I have no heart issues at this time, but I would like to be able to have some control over my heartrate. PLEASE impliment this life saving feature. Thank you!

Tommy

[SunsetRunner]

implementing this feature will change a leisure device to become a medical device, under another regulations.

[PamnAZ]

After watching PBS "Big Data" it occurs to me that FitBit may be the perfect toll/data collection device to see if we could predict heart attacks. Users could opt in to have their data collected by fitbit and if/when heart attcks occur in the users bas, the data base could be analized to see if their were anamolies that predict the event thereby triggering preventative measures. Watch the"Big Data" show and you'll see what might be possible

[DerrickS]

This is a really interesting idea, but Fitbit trackers are not intended to provide medical or scientific data.

[Hea]

I was asking for alarm if my heart beats to much! That's all folks!
Allen

[ValerieAnne]

Same here, or a simple button to press if something happens and we need
help. ie pressing it can send GPS or a quick text to somebody we know so
they can get us help.