Pacemakers and smart watches with heart monitors

Hi. I'm a shiny new member so greetings to everyone from old Hampshire in the UK.

Just over 2 years ago I had 5 cardiac arrests over 2 days, 4 of which were out of hospital and one was when I was driving. The car came out of less well than I did! I was told that the chances of surviving one such arrest out of hospital were low, so getting away with 4 and then the longest one in hospital was very rare. Fortunately during each of the first 4 my heart re-started spontaneously and quickly enough to leave me relatively unscathed (apart from bruising as I bounced off hard floors or ran my car into a ditch). I know that they were cardiac arrrests because a paramedic had attached a portable ECG to me between arrests on the 2nd day and watched my heart go asystolic. I was fitted with a 2 lead St Jude pacemaker at the end of the second day and was allowed to attend my son's wedding the following day. Result!

I was a fit and well 71 year old at the time with (probably) no prior indication of what was about to happen, although I had two strange episodes a year or so prior to this excitement. I passed out at home twice and was diagnosed as dehydrated and then I fell off the ladder I was using to fix our gutters with no warning. I am getting to know the folk at A & E quite well. On reflection both could have been the same cause.

I continue to play golf twice a week and walk a few miles each day for fitness. I eat and drink sensibly (unfortunately :-) )

That's just by way of introduction. My life was saved by the surgeons and my pacemaker for which I am extremely grateful. 

My question concerns the use of heart rate detecting smart watches and similar health tracking bracelets. Does anyone with a pacemaker use one and if so have there been any problems?

cheers

electrictv 

4 Comments

Apple watch

by Wired28 - 2018-06-21 19:49:40

Hi, I have an apple watch that has a heart rate app and I love it. You do need to have an iphone to get the most out of all the apps though .I know lots of people who have fitbits and other fitness trackers with the heart rate function. They are an interesting tool so that you can check what your heart rate is up to and that may give you peace of mind so you’re not worrying about your heart stopping again. None of the wrist worn devices will affect your pacemaker function.

Smart Watch

by AgentX86 - 2018-06-21 22:13:42

Sure, I've worn a FitBit for three years.  It was really useful in identifying when I went into Aflutter.  Actually, I could see the "signature" on it a few days before my cardiologist could see it on an EKG (I knew it but had no evidence before the FitBit).  At first, he didn't believe me that I was in or going into Aflutter.  After a couple of times, he decided that I knew what my body was telling me.

Since I've had the AV ablation and pacemaker, it's less interesting, though.  My resting heart rate is always 70 and anything above 105 isn't believable.

Smart watches and pacemakers

by electrictv - 2018-06-22 18:05:47

Thank you Wired28 and AgentX28 for your reassurences. After posting I found that this has come up before so I should have looked more carefully. However Apple still issue a warning about using their watch with a PM or similar and advise a conversation with the cardiac consultant. I suspect that if I did that with mine I would be told not to use one. When I asked the cardio physiologist after having the PM fitted when I could start palying golf again her answer was "If you asked your surgeon he would probably say that you should not play golf again but I guess that you'll ignore him anyway....". So I did!

electrictv  

Polar HR Monitor

by Grateful Heart - 2018-06-22 21:40:01

I use a Polar with a chest strap.  In the past I tried a wrist only watch type monitor which did not work well for me.

The Polar HR monitor with the chest strap is very accurate for me.  It reads the same as the machines in the gym within 1-2 bpm if not the same.  It recorded a high HR of 216 in a high intensity class and when interrogated in the drs office....it read the same on the same date and time.  Made a believer out of me.

Grateful Heart

You know you're wired when...

Bad hair days can be blamed on your device shorting out.

Member Quotes

I have an ICD which is both a pacer/defib. I have no problems with mine and it has saved my life.