ECG heart rate issues

[eagle-eye]

As an Atrial Fibrillation sufferer I mainly bought the Sense because of the ECG app. Sadly it is next to useless as it nearly always says 'inconclusive if my heart rate is below 60bpm. I'm currently not in AF and my heart rate is usually between 50 and 60.

Even when the watch shows 60bpm the ECG app will report crazy low numbers like 46 bpm.

I have the Fibricheck app on my phone and it is far more accurate than the Sense app. It will give me a rhythm report even when my heart rate is in the high 40s.

Sleep stages is probably the best way to know if I'm in AF or not. It only gives basic sleep data if it can't find a steady rhythm. That and not getting breathless walking up the stairs!

I've tried all the usual things like rebooting, clearing the cache and data and reinstalling.

Grateful for any advice. Thanks. 

[JohnnyRow]

This might not be any help, but even when Fitbit says the ECG is inconclusive, it still produces the chart that you can look at, if that's any help.

[rt101sb]

Doesn't matter if it won't even record the ECG.

[JohnnyRow]

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@rt101sb wrote:

Doesn't matter if it won't even record the ECG.

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But my point is that it might still be recording even though it says inconclusive.  Do you actually check that it was not recorded, or just assume that?

[SunsetRunner]

@eagle-eye ,

I am an Afib sufferer myself, though by now I only have occasional AF episodes at high Heart Rates. Here is a summary of my experience (8 months with Sense, 1.5 years with Fibricheck phone app):

• Fibricheck is excellent. It never failed me. It is very effective detecting Afibs. And it produces quite helpful graphs too. But it does not produce any ECG, which is the medical standard.
• Sense's ECG app is for me the best advanced Sense feature, concerning its ECG graphs. It's Afib auto-detection, though, seems poor, in general (that "Inconclusive" result happens too often). But that will also depend on the kind of Afib the user has. Anyway, as @JohnnyRow pointed out, even when we get "Inconclusive", it is always worth to export the report to a PDF and look at the ECG itself on this report. Or, even better, have a cardiologist to have a look at it. In case you haven't done it, you can always go to the ECG result list and save or share old reports.

[rt101sb]

The Kardia device works for ne, and is good at sensing A-Fib. It gives you a aay to save it or look at the entire 30 second strip.

Sent from my iPhone

[JohnnyRow]

I tried kardia and couldn't get app to work on (older) phone.

EMay makes a small portable device that doesn't require phone; can see scrolling ecg on small screen as it records, and then gives analysis.  Can then copy to PC for full view if desired.

Not necessarily recommending but just another possibility.

[SunsetRunner]

@rt101sb , I believe Kardia can be great, but, the last time I checked, it was not yet available in Portugal, my country.

UPDATE: Rechecked again and... there it is, now also in Portugal and many other European countries 🙂

[SunsetRunner]

@eagle-eye ,

One last point I forgot to address before: Heart Rate.

My advice is: when having doubts if you are having an Afib episode, don't trust the HR values shown by Sense. Sense HR is usually not accurate in many circumstances. During an Afib, they can go absolutely crazy and usually not reliable at all.

I have the idea that HR values shown on ECG reports use to be reliable, but still don't vouch for them - still need more experience on that. I advise you get a pulse oximeter, the ones you put in your finger and provide accurate and instant HR and SpO2 values. They are cheap to buy, US$30 or more maybe? Or you can install a simple app on your phone to read also accurate HR. I use Heart Rate Monitor because I liked it's simple and quick to use and quite accurate. They use the phone camera, as Fibricheck. But there are many more similar apps.

[SunsetRunner]

To add, i have SVT for a heart condition. When I used to get this rapid heartbeat, performed ECG and result was inconclusive. Then, I downloaded the ECG chart and the results of the scan showed. As I remember, BPM was recorded at 180! Unfortunately, I deleted my previous ECG charts, wish I hadn't, it would've provided a good example of an inconclusive reading on the Sense and a result of the ECG downloaded from the app. 

@eagle-eye 

Try using the ECG on your next Afib and after the scan, download the chart. It just might work and give you data. 

[rt101sb]

I do have a pulse ox

Sent from Mail for Windows