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I have massive health anxiety, so go easy on me.
Today I noticed a spike on my new fitbit watch, 200bpm! Basically it went from 64bpm at 11.25, to 134 at 11.30, to 200 at 11.32, then by 11.35 back to 64. All the time I was sitting down and didn't notice any symptoms whatsoever
My max hr is 183 when flat out on the bike. So 200 whilst sitting is either some kind of horrible arythmia, or a nonsense reading. I only noticed it afterwards on the daily graph. My heart was structurally sound in Jan according to an echocardiogram.
Is this just a nonsense reading that I can safely ignore, or worth exploring further?
Not a Doctor but would guess nonsense reading if you didn’t notice anything.
Don’t want to cast alarms but I would certainly keep an eye on it to see if it happens again. It is how some experience AFIB something I am dealing with at the moment - although mine is currently persistent.
HOme measurement devices are notorious for false readings. unless it happens again or you notice symptoms I would ignore it
It is how some experience AFIB
Woukd not think afib causes a 200 hr would it, especially with zero symptoms?
I'm more concerned with stuff VT. Although as I understand it, if I had that I'd certainly notice it.
unless it happens again or you notice symptoms I would ignore it
My concern is if it happens once it'll happen again, even a nonsense reading will further kick off my anxiety. So do I just bin the thing given it'll just stress me out, or monitor it?
Unfortunately the watch doesn't give me the ability to notify when it happens unless for over 10 min. So i can't check my pulse manually
Personally - I would bin it. all its a doing is giving you anxiety
I'd be very surprised if your heart could go to 200 without you noticing. Glitches are very common, varies by device, but any intermittent contact can cause false pulses. I used to go to 180 regularly on the HRM when I was running...with a cadence of 180 steps per min. Actual pulse was usually 120-140 depending on effort.
How new is the watch? How hairy is your arm/wrist? How tight is the watch strap?
The last 2 can have an impact on readings and if the watch is brand new then I'd suggest it could be settling in pains.
If you are concerned, get a chat with your doctor, hopefully that'll reduce any anxiety you have about it.
I don't tend to pay attention to the HR reading on my Garmin watch during the day...I'm moving about and the watch isn't tight and my arm is hairy so I figure it won't be accurate accurate. It works ok as an indicator but I need to stop for a bit so the watch is snug.
All the time I was sitting down and didn't notice any symptoms whatsoever
Straining on the loo while doing wordle? Sorry, couldn't resist......but i suspect that it's a nonsense spike. Presume it's optical? My polar the other day was reading 100 on optical while i was sitting down, so i put my chest strap on and it was the more usual 50. Are you tracking your HR 24 hours a day w the fitbit? If not, try starting an exercise/training recording for the day, and see what your HR trace does during the day. If you have a HR strap wear that for more reliable readings. If only optical wear the fitbit with a sufficient tightness so it doesn't get knocked about and lose contact. One odd reading doesn't tell you anything, and I'd be tempted to ignore. Especially of your cardologist said nothing to worry about earlier in the year. If you have a concern track your HR for a few days and see what's happening.
Yes it's optical wrist monitor. I thought I was wearing it fairly tight tbh but hopefully it was just a blib. As I say, 200 hr woukd surely give you symptoms?
It tracks pretty good during the day (or at least my old one did) but I've always noticed that it gives some random readings, ie in the 100s when it's more like 75 or 80, but never seen such a high number before
I'm pretty sure a doc would just dismiss it given they aren't the most accurate, so don't want to arrange an appointment specifically fir this
I had a very short burst of afib this week mid bike ride. Had it previously but not for probably about ten years. Carrying a bit of a bug which I'm sure set it off, probably shouldn't have ridden in first place. Anyway, was wearing a chest strap Polar and that read my HR hitting 200 and fluctuations above my usual max of circa 170. I could feel something not quite right, more like butterflies than anything more worrying. So it could be your monitor was picking up on something. But equally could be a failing battery.
I think you'd notice 200 bpm. I had an elevated heart rate which lasted several hours, started while I was resting. No other symptoms but very noticeable if you're doing naff all.
Hopefully just an erroneous reading but as above, spikes like that are how I first detected my a fib, it didn’t feel like my heart was hammering away, just butterflies or an anxious kind of feeling
Yeah I had no symptoms at all. Pulled the second by second data and it lasted 2 min in total. Ranged between 188 and 207. It jumped up in 30 bpm increments every 2 seconds from about 60bpm, then back down again in a similar stepped drop
I think you'd notice 200 bpm. I had an elevated heart rate which lasted several hours, started while I was resting. No other symptoms but very noticeable if you're doing naff all.
If you didn't have any symptoms, how was it very noticeable?
Is this just a nonsense reading that I can safely ignore, or worth exploring further?
Are you able to set an abnormal heart rate alarm?
I would go for a toss up between something to check and a blip. If it keeps happening then I would go to the doctors but if you can have the real time alarm (some garmins have them for example) then you can do an old fashioned count the pulse on wrist/neck check if it triggers.
If you didn't have any symptoms, how was it very noticeable?
It was obvious my heart was running quicker than it should, I could feel it though my chest. Almost like a heart rate you'd expect during exercise, but at rest - not a normal sensation.
I didn't have any other symptoms eg. pain, feeling unwell, dizziness, etc. 👍
then you can do an old fashioned count the pulse on wrist/neck check if it triggers.
You cannot always take your own pulse manually accurately. Biofeedback sets in and if you think it is running fast it will speed up and vice versa. Bored on nightshifts in an acute medical ward I used to put a monitor on and simply by thinking about it vary my heart rate and BP by 25% ( I did practice)
A heart rate of 200 you would have noticed. Seriously this monitor is just feeding into your health anxiety
I have a Polar optical HRM and it does the opposite - sometimes drop outs to 0. I'm fairly sure it's not accurate.
You would know if your heartbeat really was 200bpm. It's a bad sensor reading, possibly the watch, possibly how you're wearing it.
I've had a £40 Redmi Watch 5 lite for several months now and it gives very low heart rate readings. Useless as an exercise guide in that respect.
I've had several chest strap Coospo heart rate monitors over the last eight years, that have been far more reliable. ~£25 from Amazon.
You cannot always take your own pulse manually accurately. Biofeedback sets in and if you think it is running fast it will speed up and vice versa. Bored on nightshifts in an acute medical ward I used to put a monitor on and simply by thinking about it vary my heart rate and BP by 25% ( I did practice)
A heart rate of 200 you would have noticed. Seriously this monitor is just feeding into your health anxiety
Yeah but it wouldn't triple it...my normal hr under those circumstances is about 65
I struggle to disagree with your other point however. A real 200 bpm would surely cause all kinds of palpitations, breathlessness and dizziness?
I fed the data into chat gpt and it told me that the pattern was absolutely typical of an artifact. But if not then it woukd have been highly unlikely I'd not have noticed anything. As I say, I didn't notice this until I looked at the hr graph later in the day