heart rate spikes

User uploaded fileHas anyone else seen spikes like this in their heart rate? I'm sure my heart isn't actually doing this. I made sure the Watch band was tight. Apple support told me to cycle power to the Watch - no difference. They told me to unpair and then pair - no difference. They replaced the Watch - no difference. They never actually acknowledged that this is a problem they have seen before, they just seemed to be offering up solutions that they resort to when they don't know what else to suggest. I understand that the Watch heart rate algorithm might not work for everyone, but I am surprised that I have not yet found a reference to anyone else having a similar problems. Others have complained about the accuracy, but they always report the heart rate measurement to be too low, whereas in my case it spikes to a value that is way too high.

Posted on Dec 20, 2016 12:48 PM

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Posted on Oct 12, 2017 1:31 AM

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.

124 replies

Dec 9, 2017 2:54 PM in response to drweiler

I’ve had an Apple Watch 3 cellular version for about 2 months now and I’ve seen two heart rate bursts (about a10 minute event) both times when I was sleeping so I couldn’t do a manual pulse check. I would just get the elevated heart rate notification in the morning. I never woke up and didn’t notice it either. I’ll let my doctor know about it but since it happened only twice over a two month period I’m unable to say whether it actually occurred or was a glitch in the reading.

Dec 12, 2017 5:03 PM in response to drweiler

Same thing here. Bought the series 3 yesterday and have had 2 instances of incorrect spiked HR, both appeared to be when I stood up and each lasting within a single interval (1 minute).


I had HR issues with my Fitbit completely missing beats so have got in the habit of manually checking my pulse (which my doctor says is a much better way to go anyway, though not so easy while working out without stopping). Manually checking confirms the HR on the watch is completely off.


I bought this with the expectation that it will provide reliable HR data so expect Apple to fix this, particularly with their recently announced partnership with Standford Medical regarding the Atrial Fibrillation test...

Jan 24, 2018 6:04 PM in response to Leroysmith88

Unfortunately, two studies have found that the Apple watch is the most accurate of this type of heart monitor. The challenge is in getting a device on the skin at the end of your arm to monitor what your heart is doing. I'm assuming what it actually monitors is the pulse of blood traveling through the tiny blood vessels in the skin. It is easy for such devices to be fooled. At the same time, there are cases of episodic tachycardia (rapid heart beat) that do not produce symptoms, so it is important to at least check your own pulse if your watch says there is a problem. This is hard to do if you're asleep, of course. If you're concerned, see your doctor. Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT): MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

Jan 24, 2018 10:50 PM in response to franzkaiser

I do believe it’s acurrate at least in mornings. It as the person before me said he had a 24hrs device connected and while Apple Watch said he still had spikes the medical device said he didn’t had at all. I have told this to my cardiologist and ran me tests and said was all fine bust as he saw me that I was still quite unsure we told me he will put me a holder one day long

Jan 27, 2018 1:08 PM in response to drweiler

So a follow up from my last post on this subject. I am NOT endorsing anything, but wanted to share something that helped me “catch” the phenomenon. Got an app called FFITV pulse (free). It allowed me to watch my workout live on my IPHONE, my heart rate data real time from my Apple Watch. This way I could watch my heart rate on my phone (I set it on the exercise display in front of me) without having to constantly look at my watch. Since my exercise equipment has heart monitors as well, I had a means to double check when the reading showed a spike. So far I have caught the phenomenon 3 times by watching the monitor on my phone from my watch - and all three times when I grabbed the hand held heart rate monitor on the exercise equipment during the phenomenon/spike, it showed completely normal - no heart rate spike. One spike event lasted 3 minutes on the watch, so I was able to play around with the watch until I got it to stop (by eventually taking it off my wrist, and putting it back on). All events have happened while my arms were in motion (elliptical). If /when I end up figuring out exactly what triggers/fixes it, I will post again.

Jan 29, 2018 10:23 PM in response to jamart65

After 3 days without spike ( I thought it was due to update) I got at least 10 alarms while sleeping. But today I left the watch with sound so every alarm I woke up and took immodeatly the hearth rate and I was at 55 or 60 in reality. Even I took the watch and put it under my pillow and it still got a hearth rate elevated so maybe my pillow has a ghost on it!!! I don’t know what causes this but sure it’s not a problem in hearth

Jan 31, 2018 1:02 AM in response to drweiler

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 *****!

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heart rate spikes

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