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

[JamesKafka]

Anyone attentive to training would benefit from heart rate alarms. Being notified of crossing heart rate boundaries without constantly checking your watch would be very beneficial. Please add this feature to the Fitbit.

[concernmom]

Well said.  
Thank you,Nicole

[concernmom]

Heartrate alarm is beneficial to kids with autism spectrum disorder as a warning sign of anxiety/distress and time for the slow breathing before things get worse. 

[SantiR]

Hi @spidercat! Good idea, thanks for taking the time to share it with us. Keen to hear what others think?

[Bartlettvm]

First of all, my Charge 2 probably

saved my life. As my heart was hitting 178 sitting. I got checked out by my doctor, who also read my heart at high numbers. Turns out, I have Hyperthyroidism and need a specialist. I am on beta blockers. But it would be nice for others who didn’t check their heart constantly to be warned when their heart is beating too fast for no reason (like no steps). I am lucky I knew something was wrong. 

[SunsetRunner]

Fitbit is so great with keeping in shape. 

Why not invent a Life Bit for all that have medical issues???

it’s like a Fitbit but it monitors your heart rate and pulse. And if it gets too low have it were it can notify Family or 911 or both

I believe this will be very usuful in today’s world.  

Hope this is something that you will consider.....

Proud FitBit User 

[Mtsilvestri]

As someone with a weak heart, looking into having a pacemaker, I would love to be able to set alarms for my BPM (too high or too low).  A simple vibration might mean saving my life right now. 

[DavidPW]

Warning the wearer about some cardiac anomaly or BPM too high or too low as detected by FitBit is a good idea, especially if no Bluetooth link is required to process the data and generate the signal, because there is no penalty for a false alarm. Calling 911 when an anomaly is detected is not a good idea, because there will inevitably be many false alarms, tens of thousands nationally, unless the threshold for an anomaly is set so high that many real anomalies are missed, in which case the feature has little point. All those false alarms would divert emergency services from true emergencies.

[Kwieber]

Cities are issuing alerts for opioid advisory and people are overdosing daily. Fitbit tracks heart rate, can it alert Family, police or whoever is set up (neighbor/friend) if heart rate declines and STOPS?  

Narcan is available and children wouldnt become orphans. Fitbit can help fight this epidemic. 

[Self-regulating]

My son is autistic and attends a therapeutic boarding school in South Carolina, along with 38 other boys. My son's been using a Fitbit for the past half year with great results re emotional self-regulation. The school's therapists are having him look at his pulse rate to help him feel when he's getting upset. It's helping him a lot. His therapist told me that she wishes she could set his Fitbit so that it would vibrate an alert to let him know when his pulse is rising (when he's in a resting - not an exercising - state). Would it be possible to create this alert?

Moderator edit: Labels

[Wshopkins89]

Hello there, and thanks for taking the time to read my suggestion. 

As a former 911 operator, the most heartbreaking call, and the one everyone dreaded, was the non-breathing infant. By the time the parents realized their child was a victim of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), it was usually too late. There's a certain kind of hysterics that any seasoned dispatcher will recognize immediately...It only results from a mother finding her child dead. 

I believe fitbit has the technology to make this kind of call a thing of the past. It wouldn't need to be a complicated, feature-packed device to accomplish its intended purpose. It wouldn't need a battery draining display, nor would it need GPS or any kind of stat tracking software. All it would need to do is monitor the child's heartrate and breathing. If either stopped, it would require the ability to sound a loud audible alarm (which may by itself cause the child to wake up and begin breathing again), and the ability to cause some kind of alert to be sent to the phones of the parents. The market for these life saving devices would be huge. If they were made affordable enough, they could be sold to hospitals wholesale and sent home with every newborn. 

[MikeP777]

FitBits already have a vibrating facility (eg as a reminder to do some steps in a given hour) which could be used to waken a baby whose pulse had stopped 😊

Sent from my iPhone

[zzachmay]

For people at risk for a heart attack, I had an idea that will help them. My idea is a watch that measures your heart rate every 5-10 minutes. If it gets no pulse, it connects to your phone and calls 911. An automated voice will say something with a heart Attack patient and the location. This is just the basics but I am sure you guys can build on it.

[00Kell]

I really love the sounds of a SIDS device! 

However, I have doubts that MikeP777's suggestion will work as the baby will most likely be beyond waking and require active revival once their hearts stop.  The idea could find it difficult to account for issues that interrupt measurement.  Still, it should be straight forward to create an affordable device, using Fitbit technology, that monitors both heart rate and breathing and sets off alarms when they go outside the expected norm.  That would have all sorts of uses.  Old people could wear it as part of a personal alarm system.  A long with MikeP777's suggestion, it could even work well as an alternative to a CPAP machine for mild/occasional sleep apnoea.

[Bartlettvm]

Omg! What a good idea! As a person with Graves....I woulda never knew I had a health issue, but I tracked my heart. It peaked at 197 for no reason daily. I wouldnt have known that of it wasnt for fitbit. My only symptom was sweating. But maybe a vibration when the heart peaks?

Valerie

Moderator edit: removed personal information

[LanuzaFitbit]

Nice suggestion, thanks for sharing. We look forward to hearing what other community members think.

[guy_greenwood]

I am looking for a device for my father that is similar to a Fit Bit but measures a person’s vital signs or can indicate that the wearer is in possible distress and has the ability to send out a warning.

The Fit Bit has the ability to monitor sleep and heart rate so, my thinking is, could it then monitor if something untoward is going on, e.g. had a fall, having an epileptic fit or even a stroke?  

My father is recovering from a stroke which happened 2 and a half years ago and has made fantastic progress, e.g. from being advised he will never walk again to now walking with just a walking stick, this is making him more and more independent, and he is now, for the past 1 and half years, been living back at home, but with 24 hour support. We are trying to give him more and more independence also, with such a device, it could potentially reduce costs, e.g. not such intensive support.

I have searched the internet for such a device but can not find anything, I was wondering if you were aware of a product or were bringing out such a product in the future for that purpose or could be adapted?

Hope you can help.

[MarcelBK]

Nice suggestion, thanks for sharing. We look forward to hearing what other community members think.

[nicocary]

The elderly are overlooked as ever in technology as they're not a sexy demographic to target (I know I used to be in tech). 

However they have the biggest need for your product. Allowing relatives to monitor their loved ones vitals (HR / VO2 / Movement - steps etc) via your app / web portal would be great especially when your loved one is in care (nursing homes). You always worry about them and want to check up without being a nuisance and taking away their last independence. 

It would also be great to have a tracking ability for people suffering from dementia and a SOS button for emergencies. 

 Moderator edit: Subject for clarity

[nicocary]

I completely agree! I also just made a post about this topic as I completely agree! We want to use it in our care homes as an added layer of care / monitoring. 

[YojanaFitbit]

Nice suggestion @nicocary, thanks for sharing. We look forward to hearing what other community members think.

[RB1989]

You are on a walk with a Fitbit on your arm and a connected smartphone in your jeans. In this walk you get pain on your chest and want to send a alert to a group of selected persons you click 5 times fast in the button of the Fitbit and it sends a sms with your phone to that group with the text alert and the last known GPS position.

Not only for medical issues but also for creating a safer feeling on the street.

And for Fitbit a new group of customers like the elderly.

[LordyLordy]

I want a Fitbit that tells me what I need to know not scientific data but it needs scientific data to tell me and others if I am dying, what is the point of a Fitbit that is only any good to the person who takes it from my cold lifeless body when I have collapsed in some remote spot. also, there needs to be a way of contacting people other than friends and family, if you are a cantankerous old bugger and don't have any

[LanuzaFitbit]

Nice suggestion, thanks for sharing. We look forward to hearing what other community members think.

[HeartWARNING]

A great feature for a fitbit would be that it could detect an irregular heartbeat pattern that could be a warning sign of an heart attack.  The user could call his medical provider to determine if the person should seek medical assistance.  This could be a real life saver because most people do not believer they are having a heart attack until it is too late.  If this is not a useful idea I will suggest it to apple to be included in the apple watch.  Thank you.  Roger 

Moderator edit: removed personal information