heart rate spikes

I had a same problem while running, with heart ra spiking up to 210. When I talked to my physician about this, she ordered 24 hour Holter Monitor. I went running with this as usual. My Apple Watch recorded HR spike at 208. Holter monitor result did not show any abnormal HR spikes at all. Maybe Apple Watch is not accurate during a vigorous activity.

So I have had the exact same problem, and am embarrassed to say what I have went through. I was convinced I must be having some type of fibrillation or something. I have seen this on my gen 1 watch for a year now. Did all the things they suggested as well, still got spikes. As a result, I actually went to a heart doctor who hooked me up to a 48 hour heart monitor test...which came back completely normal....no spikes despite seeing them on the Apple Watch during this time. I even joined cariogram and it just takes the data from the watch and gives no diagnostic back. So that was a waste. I just upgraded to a 3 series...same thing. I now have an alert on my watch so it tells me when it happens - but it will not work when you are exercising (which is when it happens to me). So now when I am exercising I hold the heart monitor on the exercise machine...I have caught several times my watch spiking, but zero spike on the exercise machine - completely normal. I don’t know what to say other than this is likely something many people experience. I love the watch and what it does - but this problem is annoying and for me caused considerable angst! I hope it is fixed soon. My biggest worry is if someone does have an actual problem and ignores it because they think it is erroneous. But for me at least it seems to not be accurate.

So this will be my third and final post on this subject. I too had this spike problem since I’ve owned my Apple Watch. Two different watches, same annoying problem. I have been determined to figure out the issue, and report back on my findings. Please read my other posts for background info, but suffice it to say I have been to doctors, employed many “add on” apps, and am convinced these spikes (at least for me) were not real. The breakthrough was using an app callled FITIV Pulse, which allowed me to watch my heart rate real time on my IPHONE while I exercise. When I caught a spike, I used the an alternative method to check my pulse rate (like the exercise machine monitor, for instance). In all cases, it showed “normal” with the alternate method while my watch read super high heart rates. Frustrating. So for me, I finally found the fix. I am embarrassed to say how simple it was. What I have done, as of late, is to tighten my watch band to the “slightly” beyond comfort tightness....where when I attach the band - it is very tight, to the point it is difficult to get the strap through the slot. It takes some pushing to get it through the slot (the top of the band) to slide it underneath. It is uncomforable for the first few minutes (how tight the band is), but after I get used to it ( please note it is not so tight my hand goes numb!)...but a bit more than snug. Since I have done that, I have seen NO spikes. None. This is after seeing spikes nearly once a day for at least a year, when my watch was only “snug”, not “tight” around my wrist. It completely eliminated the spikes. Another mystery I solved was with other apps (like “Heart Watch”) showing rings completed where the Apple Watch rings are not complete. I realized that these apps are only mimicking the watch rings, and tend to give you FULL exercise minute credit no matter what the intesity. I did an experiment where I turned on my watch for a walk, started the exercise mode, but walked very slowly. As expected, my heart rate was low, and Apple Watch did not give me full credit for the minutes walked. It is obvious the watch is linked to intensity and heart rate, not just the “act” of exercising. The Heart Watch APP, on the other hand, with the same slow walk - gave me full credit. It is similar to the “other” category for exercise with Applewatch, where it gives you full credit no matter what the intesity of the workout. As I get more fit, I notice it is harder and harder to get the credit with Applewatch, as my heart rate is better/lower. My last comment addresses those who have just quit wearing their watch because of the spikes....I can only say this. I am now on day 288 in a row of at least 60 minutes or more of exercise, with 3 rings closed every day. I have never done anything 288 days in a row except eat bad. I travel 3-4 days a week for work, and find myself walking up and down the Atlanta airport concourse tunnel to complete my rings...anything to get the exercise in. It started with a challenge from my daughter for 30 days...she is now at 289 days in a row. Now my entire family is on the challenge. All 3 of my daughters, wife, and son in law. They are at the 50 day mark. I love this watch, despite how hard it was to figure out this annoying spike issue and lack of credit for exercise minutes. For me it provided the inspiration and family support I needed to finally commit to exercising...maybe it is sad it took something like this, but it is working for us. I know I will open myself up to critisism for the “solution”....and cannot say it will work for you....only that maybe this will help you as well, solve this annoying issue, and only wanted to share some of the things I have figured out after a year of working on this issue. I am not promoting the watch or any of the apps I mentioned...just sharing how I used them to finally get rid of these issues.

I've had a similar issue. I've made sure my watch is fitted correctly, but I do get the random spike in heart rate say from 74 bpm to 166 bpm for a second or two, then right back down to normal. It seems to correspond to a fast movement of my arm... reaching for something, brushing teeth etc.

I have a generation 1 Watch and while I started noticing weird spikes months ago, now with OS4 I think it's getting way, way worse (or maybe it's the hardware itself that it's getting too old?...).

I'm seeing a lot of frequent 120-160 spikes as well as 30-40 dips in my readings. What I've noticed is that these weird values only happen with the automatic readings. If I start a continuous recording session with Cardiogram it's a steady 60-65 for hours (well, at least until the battery dies). But as soon as I turn off the continuous reading... boom, here's the 30 heart rate.

Another thing I noticed, it looks like the spikes/dips are always the first readings, then it starts to correctly read the heart rate. Also, if I move my hand suddenly or do some other irregular movement then I also get weird 120-160/30-40 values.

I mean I would prefer the watch to skip completely everything that is not 100% reliable than to have all these wrong values.

Hi, this sudden spike occurs when the back of the watch moves in relat to the skin during a measurement cycle. You can replicate this by taking a measurement deliberately by tapping the heart icon, then after a few moments move the watch up or down on your wrist while it is reading. Usually you will get a massive spike that is not repeated if the watch is not moved further.

I noticed it would spike at random times but could never figure it out until one day I turned on the heart rate complication on the face of the watch. I sit on my hands sometimes at work and found this was the cause of the spikes. I can see why sleeping with it on would cause the same spike issues if you happened to be sleeping on your arm or hand.

I found the good solution to have the best heart rate measurement during a running 🙂

I precise that i have a small wrist and i had bad measures because my watch often moved while i sweat.

I now wear the watch 2cm above my bone wrist and wear tight, i use the new strap band witch is more confortable.

Thanks to that, i now have a normal graphic of my HRM 😉

Before :

After :

SOLUTION FOUND !!!

This is seriously simple. Having exhaustively tested and troubleshooted 3 Apple Watch 3's, all spikes (and presumably dips) are caused by the sensors when they can't get a good reading ... thanks to Apple and their great customer service assistance. The issue? body fat.

That's right. Body fat. The sensors need not only veins to detect blood flow, but the medium in which the blood flows for sensor resonance. Body fat.

Solution: get/use adjustable band, move watch to mid-forearm. This is how the scorsch rhythm works, and in my tests i've gone from failure to 100% success rate with both Apple Watch 2 and 3's.

Theory behind solution:

Elite and super-fit runners have very little body fat, and this includes wrists. Others continued or returned to running for the love of being healthy, thus keeping weight down on ... wrists. Lastly, some are poor and/or forced to skip meals and/or have poor diets. Bottom line, regardless of reason, the Apple Watch 1-2-3 sensor requires 'some' body fat below sensor for reliable resonance and data.

Hope this helps you !!!

Go Apple

This is an Apple Watch sensor issue with bony wrists. Body fat seems to be required, particularly when exercising. As an Apple iOS / watchOS developer – you can trust i've done my homework.

Solution: Using an adjustable velcro type band, move the Apple Watch to your mid-forearm... and fasten down before running. snug is fine. you may feel odd sensation when turning arm over to look at wrist - but you'll get used to it, most especially when your Apple Watch performs flawlessly for each run. Zero spikes.

Best regards,

Sean

I have been using the Apple Watch for running almost daily since it's original release. Currently using AW3 LTE. I have consistently had the HR "spike" issue early in my runs on every watch, every OS. For me, it is usually 8 to 10 readings in the first quarter of a mile. I have tried all the tricks, and now just go in and delete the spikes through HR Data to get accurate run averages and peak HR history. That said, I use a Garmin 235 for runs > 15 miles (battery life, I am old and slow), and have similar issues with the Garmin from time to time. It also uses optical HR. Only real solution at this time I think is to use a Bluetooth chest HR monitor as others said. I used chest HR monitors on Garmin for years pre-Apple watch with near zero spike issues. I choose to live with this issue with AW3 because of convenience of LTE cellphone, and streaming music to airpods. I am sure they will fix this sometime as optical improves.

Rich W

I have the same issue often in the beginning of a walking workout. Pulse goes from the 80's up to say 180 for a brief period and then back to the 80's. I've seen it over 200 at times. When this happens, I calmly stop and take my HR the old fashioned way, at my wrist or neck with a watch. I also on occasion wear a Polar HR monitor at the same time, and use a recording program I can refer back to. So far the Polar has shown no such spikes.

That said, just because there is a bug with the Apple HR program doesn't mean that every spike is wrong. Some of the spikes mentioned during sleep (up to say 110) can be quite normal and attributed to dream or awake activity that you may not remember in the morning. There are also arrhythmia's, like SVT and Afib, that can cause momentary spikes into the high 100's or more. The odds are that any spike you get with the Apple Watch is from a bug, but to be sure, I suggest wearing a good second HR monitor at the same time to compare notes, at least from time to time. Of course, counting your pulse the old fashioned way will work as well, as long as you are able to do it quickly enough.

There is certainly an issue with some folks seen when a workout is started that involves some rhythmic activity. I'm a regular 64 yo runner with HR usually in mid 40s. I've had a series 2 watch for 2 years, and now a series 4. The same issue is seen on both - resting HR accurate, but almost every time when I start a run the watch reports a spike, typically to 170-185, that plateaus for 3-4 minutes then suddenly drops to the expected (and correct when checked) 120-130 and stays there for the rest of the run. Pulse when actually taken during the abnormal spike is the 100-120 or so expected for initial rise with exercise. This pattern is quite reproducible - always at beginning of run (unless I stop for a bit for some reason and restart, at which point I may see another brief spike). I then counted my step rate at the beginning of runs, and it seemed to correlate well with the perceived spike - a bit lower if I ran slower, faster with quicker step cadence. So for me, and for some other users who see the identical pattern, it seems the watch on occasion will pick up a step count rather than HR before it corrects itself. Perhaps intermittent but regular skin contact is the culprit.

I have solved issues with heart rate spiking with my Series 3 Apple Watch by no longer using it for workouts. The Polar H1 is more accurate and synchronizes with my iPhone perfectly. Apple was nice enough to replace my defective watch with a new one but I prefer the Polar as do most serious athletes. In the gym I can easily see my heart rate on the iPhone which I leave on the control panel of the machine I am using.

Six months ago I had heart surgery to repair a defect. During my recovery I was required to keep my heart at lower rates when working out. The AW did not track changes in my heart rate reliably and wasn’t nearly as fast as the Polar which seems to have a near immediate reading of my bpm. Aditionally, the large display in the iPhone is much easier to see than a watch on my wrist.

I love the idea of the AW, but a $100 Polar H1 blows it away.

My Heart Rate monitor suddenly mid-year started with random spikes readings for no particular reason. It would be at 72 and then spike for one reading to 166 and then back to the 70’s. This is highly frustrating and leaves me without a reliable HR monitor.

What surprises me is that with all the brilliant Apple software engineers none of them have thought about writing a couple of lines of code to validate the reading before displaying it. If the last two readings were in the 70’s and then the next reading is is 166, surely they should suppress the reading random spike and check again. If it drops back to the previous range then ignore the spike. If it stays up in that range then continue to record it. My world of process control would encounter catastrophic failures if every time a sporadic reading from a sensor came through. We would have airplanes crashing and power plants causing huge disasters if every reading was taken as the gospel and not validated before accepting it as a true value.

Please Apple Engineers, take note and add a few lines of code to suppress random readings so I can continue to use my Apple Watch as a true HR monitor.