heart rate spikes

Hey,

I regularly get heart rate spikes during swimming and during walking. There is nothing wrong with you. It’s just that Apple Watch is quite often inaccurate. Perhaps it is accurate on average over periods of time but hardly accurate at any given moment. Nothing you can do to fix it. If you want accurate results pair your Apple Watch with Polar H10 HRM. This is the most accurate and consistent heart rate monitor I have used. Unfortunately, it does not work under water.

Apple Watch often misreads my heart rate. I don’t have any heart irregularities or anomalies yet when I climb the steps it can show my heart rate as 60 or 65 while I am panting heavily and feel my heart pumping.

Overall, the accuracy of Apple Watch *****!

Mine has spiked to 471 from sitting for an hour, the Dr says the watch is faulty. I was experiencing some sort of internal distress at the time, but it quickly failed. Did you find out anything further on this? Also while it showed on my watch, the data never made it to my phone.

to me irá versión 4.2. Since 4.2.2 ir has just happened me once but that night was constantly repeating the alarm ( it was all night) so I woke up and run the hr manually and go back to 60s then alarm again while sleeping and again to 60s , at the end finally took the watch off and still got one alarm so maybe there is ghost in my bed. Lol

I've done all of the above. I went so far as to have a workup with a cardiologist about the heart rate spike and wore a holter monitor for 24 hours, which included an outdoor run. The watch showed the spike and the holter monitor did not. Therefore, it's something with the watch. I do other cardio and this only happens during outdoor runs. Today I attempted to keep my arm still while running and no spike. I started swinging my arm in a normal fashion and it spiked. Is there an accelerometer that I can turn off? This is one of the main reasons I use the apple watch.

Just went to family doctor for ekg and listen to heart every thing is good. I did the same at the cardiologist and scheduled stress test, echo and Holter monitor in a few weeks so far heart is good. I don’t wear the watch now and I feel so much better.

I haven’t had the heart rate spikes at night since I updated my watch to the 4.2.2 release. Not sure if it’s because they fixed it or it just hasn’t happened again. It was happening 2-3 times a week and now it’s been fine. So who knows, maybe they really fixed it.

I just started a work out and wanted to check my heart rate, the watch said 128bpm, I checked manually and it was 70, by the time I looked back down at my watch it was reading 70bpm, I thought it would mess up my numbers for my workout but when I checked it didn’t log it as a spike? I’m hoping they fixed the random brief spikes or drops

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.

Mine are both. Get as low as the 20’, and highest I’ve seen was 471. Normally no higher than the mid 300’s. Mine all happen during an event (my chest is pounding, I get confused, tunnel vision, and sometimes passing out). They don’t record to my phone, and cardiologist says it’s not possible to go that low or high. I’m not typically doing anything when this happens. Watching tv, working at my desk. Event only happens on the high heart rate.

I have a 38mm S2 updated several weeks ago 1/29/2018) to the latest watchOS 4. Though spikes seemed to have been reducedthey still occur without relation to my activity level. I see spikes while I was in deep sleep. Some are unnatural levels that would trigger obvious physical reactions. I have a rower with a chest band, and it never reports jumps like the watch records; such as today a pulse of 208. I do note that many of the spikes are suspiciously close to a double of the rates the watch reports in the data points before or after the spike. Though my resting pulse is naturally slow, regularly in the 45-50 range, I also see occasional drops to 32-35, which seem like they would cause some reaction.

My magnetic watch band is usually snug enough the pressure lines are visible in my skin when the watch is taken off my wrist. I have used the watch both on top and under my wrist, and donor observe different spike behavior.

Battery life has been god, allowing charging on alternate days, and a charge in the time I’m changing and showering is enough to stretch another day if need be. So I have a lot of history at night. I do see some strings of elevated readings I assume relate to dreams, but those are usually in my normal activity range.

I am sure Apple is doing a lot of filtering and averaging of the light based measurements, but I agree with the preceding writers that the algorithm needs to reject solitary readings of these spikes. There are not related to loose watch movements or sudden impact movements of my arm when I’m lying in bed. I do wonder if Apple has properly studied differences in results for people with slight mourners or different average rates or ekg patterns.

Do anyone know if this forum is monitored by the watch engineers? Is there a way to determine if Apple recognizes the issue is more than users not snugging their watch band tightly?

Ditto here, except my spikes (170-203 bpm) last at least for first 10min -- at best -- and to the end of workout at worst. I've heard every 'try this' and tried them all. There is no fix for the HEART RATE SPIKE issue with any Apple Watch (series 1-3) ... and what Apple recommends is, to be polite, almost comic. I had an Apple tech today suggest I replace my iPhone. To his credit, he was trying to be helpful, but what's the next idea ... buy a new car?

quick bio: I'm a retired Distance Runner and Coach turned Apple Developer with 9 years of iOS and 3 watchOS under belt ... and owner of all 3 editions of the Apple Watch. This heart rate spiking during workouts issue has been plaguing me forever, but only recently did it become critical to resolve. I figured Apple would fix the issue, eventually, but as of yet we're still spiking.

Moreover, I've been coding my own solution for the distance running world for 2+ years now ... today went on no less than 4 separate real-world test runs trying to solve this riddle - using my 4th BRAND NEW Apple Watch 3 (replaced by Apple) with cell enabled on my wrist. Still having problems.

After an inaugural successful run with accurate data yesterday, with truly accurate results that tickled me silly =) ... today the **** heart rate spikes returned. Given my tests, usage, knowledge and development efforts –- I'm betting this is a software API issue and Apple needs to solve this.

ASAP would be nice.

I'm curious if anyone has tried using a clear gel (perhaps like that used in ultrasound scanning) under the watch to minimize reflective artifacts. I've not ever seen heart rate spikes, although my exercise currently consists of brisk walks and riding my stationary bike. Spring is coming, though. I do see some remarkably low readings that I think are inaccurate (34 bpm? - I'm never that calm.). If you do try this, be careful not to use too much if your watch is not waterproof.

As far as I can tell, Apple has not addressed this issue (yet).

I have had this problem with every generation Apple Watch. I am an avid runner and initially bought my 1st generation Apple Watch so that I could ditch my heart rate strap. The issue is slightly better with the Series 3 than previous generations, but it routinely reports completely bogus heart rate data. Often the watch reports heart rate in excess of 200 bpm, but my maximum heart rate is probably around 185. I have tried tightening, loosening, etc., and the only strong correlation is cold -- when I run in the cold, and my hands get cold, the watch seems to report running cadence (one footstep = one beat) rather than heart rate -- yeah, my cadence is 200+ when I'm running fast. (It happens in warm weather too, just much less often.)

Perhaps the Series 4 will be better...

I’ve had my Apple Watch for over two years. I’ve seen the same results with my watch as well. There are times at night where it will spike and then go right back to normal. Periodically if I am running or riding a cycle it will periodically spike up for a few seconds and then when I stop for a second it goes right back to normal. Not sure what is going on, but I am quite positive it is the watch. I haven’t seen the same sort of thing with my Apple Watch 3 but I have definitely seen it with the Apple Watch 1. I am a big fan of both watches but they definitely are not perfect. Apple needs to do a more work with their software before you can consider the information as accurate. One thing I do is check my pulse rate immediately against the watch. Every time I have done this there is has been a difference between the readout on the watch and my actual pulse rate. I just put my thumb against the carotid artery in my neck to take my pulse.

Thanks for the tip -- I tried wearing the watch a few cm higher (away from my wrist) and fully cinched down and that seems to help. My run this morning showed no high spikes at all (although it did show one low dip). Of course, this morning was warmish... the real test will be trying this in the cold.