Smartwatches are getting very sophisticated with more of them starting to offer features allowing you to run an ECG or heart rhythm check. As exciting as it sounds, though, there are a few things you should consider before upgrading your smartwatch to have these features on your wrist.
1. They measure a snapshot of your heart’s performance
To get the ECG measurement using a smartwatch you need to ‘complete the circuit’ by either touching the watch with your other hand or by pressing the watch against your chest. By doing so, you are naturally not able to measure your heart’s ECG throughout the day. Apple, for example, explains that their watch doesn’t constantly look for AFib (the most common type of arrhythmia) and ‘it cannot detect all instances of AFib, and people with AFib may not get a notification’.
If you are worried that there might be something not quite right with your heart or you would like have a more comprehensive picture of your heart’s performance, a device that can monitor your heart continuously will give you a more accurate view of how your heart handles you daily routine.
2. They are not medical-grade devices
And as such they are not designed to diagnose any heart conditions. You can use them to monitor your heart or any conditions you already know you have, but to check if you have a heart condition you didn’t know about, a device that can detect the subtleties of your heart’s rhythm might be better suited here.
3. You need to be cautious if you have pacemaker or an ICD
The ECG features on smartwatches (and fitness tracker devices overall) might not be the best things for you if you have a pacemaker or an ICD. They can cause interference affecting the performance of your pacemaker, making it either send too many signals or stop sending them.
British Heart Foundation has more information abut this. Click the link in the references, to visit their website and find out more.
The convenience of using a smartwatch for ECG is very tempting, but for now, these devices can’t give us a comprehensive picture of how our hearts are doing. Luckily, there are devices that can and are as convenient to wear as a watch.
References:
- British Heart Foundation – to access the article click here.
