Q: Will the watch accurately record heart rate if you have atrial fibrillation?
Will the Apple Watch accurately record heart rate where atrial fibrillation is present?
iMac
Posted on Jun 16, 2016 4:00 PM
Ah, so many of us want simple answers. There is no yes/no answer to that question. Afib exhibits an uneven and varying strength pulse rate. As it's uneven, the watch may or may not sense every beat. So the general answer is no. But Afib also results in a very rapid heart rate, so IF the watch senses every beat it will show a very high heart rate.
So I guess the answer is that an Apple watch is not an appropriate tool for diagnosing afib. But if you have an afib incident you will know it immediately from the external symptoms (weakness, palpitations, irregular pulse), and you can easily check it yourself by feeling your pulse.
Posted on Jun 17, 2016 8:44 AM