Level 1

56 points

heart rate spikes

Has 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

Top-ranking reply

PXLArtificer

Level 1

9 points

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.

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124 replies

lugoben

Level 1

4 points

Dec 21, 2018 6:39 AM in response to drweiler

I have experienced similar high rate measurements on my watch series 1, every time I start a workout. On a treadmill, I was able to compare values on the watch to the heart rate obtained from the machine itself. For instance, while running and at the point it occurred, the rate shown by the watch was 174, the value reported by the treadmill was 104. Every time the value went up on the watch the machine, those on the treadmill differ wildly. I put into practice all ideas thrown on the subject and this hasn't changed. Last night, while doing a workout, the watch showed measurements of 166 at 6:54 pm, 171 at 7 pm, 161 at 7:02 and 115 after 7:03. It is odd that Apple hasn't sorted out the reason for this disparity on the values. Can I trust these measurements? This situation has been constant for over a year.

Purium

Level 1

10 points

Jan 30, 2018 6:07 PM in response to Purium

Oct 27, 2018 10:38 AM in response to susanfromleonardtown

Oct 20, 2017 8:08 AM in response to drweiler

Same here got a brand new 42mm LTE with random high spike once a day, range from 160 - 120 for no reason. So it is just not me

Nov 27, 2017 6:57 AM in response to GreatScottie

We cannot rely on this heart rate monitor, unfortunately 😟

Yesterday i did a run and the hrm was lost during 30mn...and my watch did not move, i swear !

Dec 4, 2017 9:37 PM in response to Panny1

I think any 3rd party app is accessing the same HR data as the apple app.

Dec 5, 2017 7:14 AM in response to GreatScottie

Unfortunately there's nothing to do

maybe to pray for an update

or not

It's X-mas soon, maybe Santa will hear us 🙂

Dec 7, 2017 3:10 AM in response to drweiler

Hi, I had this same issue last night. My heart rate spiked to 160bmp at 3AM and was like that until twenty past. Im not sure if this is a true reading or not?

Dec 30, 2017 7:48 AM in response to KDESLANDES

My excursion lasted 10 minutes while asleep bouncing from at rest 58 bmp to as high as 127

Jan 24, 2018 10:14 PM in response to franzkaiser

If you have the money and want an FDA-approved add-on that should give you more in-depth info, you might try this: https://store.alivecor.com/products/kardiaband

Jan 27, 2018 4:16 AM in response to Allistah

Let’s see if the new update 4.2.2 ends this problem. For last 2 night I had made the update all is normal so far

Allistah

Level 1

8 points

Jan 27, 2018 6:26 AM in response to Leroysmith88

I’ll keep an eye out too for it and reply here if I see this with 4.2.2. 👍-1F3FB;

jamart65

Level 1

5 points

Jan 28, 2018 5:04 PM in response to drweiler

According to my Apple Watch, my heartrate spikes once a week while sitting in church. I’m pretty sure that’s inaccurate!

Allistah

Level 1

8 points

Feb 1, 2018 8:51 AM in response to Jonathan UK

What version of the watch OS software is on your iWatch now - when it spiked up to 471?

Feb 5, 2018 4:26 PM in response to Allistah

When it happened 4.2.

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heart rate spikes