When will the Sense detect Afib without request?

[flroots]

I've experienced Afib without symptoms. The only way I know is that a doctor happened to catch it while being examined. Thus the Sense is of limited benefit to me since the Afib test must be requested and without symptoms it's near impossible catching it. It seems that the technology must exist to detect for Afib 24/7. My question is does anyone know if this is a future development and if so, when might it become available? I do understand that this may require more processing power and could place an additional strain on battery.

[SunsetRunner]

Hi @flroots - I appreciate your concern. Technology exists to diagnose and catch AFib events but even the Event Recorder and the Holter Monitor require human interaction as described in this page from the Cleveland Clinic. Talk to your doctor about these. To my knowledge, Fitbit does not have current plans to bring the Sense up to the capabilities of the Holter Monitor, a true medical device. If you need something that continuous, it would be best to work with your doctor. May I ask, what made your doctor test for AFib? Was it a standard EKG/ECG procedure? You can do that yourself with the Sense ... take random ECG readings. You can send those directly to your doctor, if you want, or print and save them for your next appointment. In this way, the Sense can act like a Event Recorder. You say you have no symptoms. This would complicate matters. Have you discussed the Sense capabilities with your Doctor? It would be interesting to hear if s/he is interested in making it part of your health monitoring. LEt him/her know that the Sense ACG ability to identify AFib has been approved by the FDA. I wish you the best with your health! 

[FloppyDrive · Accepted solution]

The Apple watch has the ability to detect irregular rhythm using the PPG sensor. If it suspects Afib for more than 10 minutes, it send an alert to the user. This does not require FDA clearance. The Sense has a PPG sensor, so it is possible for it to detect irregular rhythm without using the ECG function. The point is to alert the user of something unusual, so they can then use the ECG function.

[flroots]

Yes, that is an excellent point. It would be very helpful for the Sense to detect and report irregular heart beats. This would allow user to run an ECG test on such occasions.

[sockatume]

I don't think it would be possible for the Fitbit to detect AFIB continuously - a one-wire ECG needs you to touch the watch with one hand while it is attached to the opposite wrist, which you can hardly do all day - but the suggestion of irregular heart beat alerts is a good one. The Fitbit already has bradycardia/tachycardia alerts and it would be a natural extension.