Useful Smart Watches?

[Alexandra]

I'm 99% positive I have POTS. I live in an area with doctors who are unfamiliar with it and the closest city with real medical care is 6 hours away. I have symptoms of fainting, shaking, blurry to no vision, trouble standing, unable to concentrate, extreme exhaustion as well as overall weakness. Although I adjusted my lifestyle to keep symptoms done, I would still like a formal diagnosis.  The problem is that my symptoms never show up when I go visit the specialist 6 hours away. So I'm hoping to find a very reliable smart watch to track my blood pressure, pulse, and maybe my oxygen intake. Does anyone know of a watch, or device really, that's up for the task? It really needs to be accurate. Thank you so much.

[Guest ANCY]

I don't know of one device that has ALL those functions. I use a polar watch with chest strap heart monitor. My cardiologist has always been happy with it and uses the data from it to help with decisions. To include deciding to place a pacemaker, said that it was as accurate as any other device they would have tried to use. Don't bother much with meticulously going through the data anymore as my cardio can see the pacemaker info. I use an Omron BP cuff that was also recommended to me by cardiologist. Pulse ox can be very unreliable when your blood pressure is low. A pulmonologist explained to me that without adequate profusion the pulseox can't measure properly. Just thought I'd share... Hope you find what you are looking for.

[vepa]

When you go to the doctor, do they run a tilt table or just make you lay down and stand? I've found the tilt table is a whole different experience and far more likely to make your symptoms appear. 

I don't know of any smart watches that track BP. But you can buy a BP cuff and a pulse ox and run your own test at home and take pictures of the results. Personally, my doctor will not diagnose based on info he did not test himself but every doctor is different so I wish you luck!

[MamaTrain]

I have the Apple watch and it does great for HR but doesn’t do BP or pulse OX. I use a separate BP (arm cuff) and pulse OX. I have taken video/photo with my phone of my readings to document what they were. The HR watches are such a great tool...they weren’t around when I was first sick in 2008. It would of costs hundreds of dollars to get 24 hour HR monitoring! Hope you get a formal diagnosis soon. You know something is not right in your body and you have to keep pushing on til you get an accurate DX and treatment! Best wishes to you!

[yogini]

The Polar watches are scientifically accurate.  I believe you need the chest strap to be accurate.  You can also just count your pulse manually

[orion]

Smartwatches/fitness watches can only to measure your heart rate and count your steps.  They can't measure your blood pressure or oxygen saturation. 

I tried fitbit to keep track of my heart rate, but it couldn't accurately  measure my heart rate upon standing.  

If you want to track your heart rate, use a wahoo/polar heart rate band. 

Of you want to track your oxygen saturation, use a dedicated oximeter. 

If you want to measure your BP, use a dedicated BP meter. 

There isn't a good all in one solution. 

[HangingByAThread]

I swear by my Alivecor Kardia monitor. It costs about $125 and you no longer need a prescription (mine was recommended by my electrophysiologist). It is a case that fits on the back of your smartphone and then you install the app on your phone. You can record and store tons of high quality EKGs that you can then email to your doctor or print out. The app also flags abnormal heart rhythms and if you really need reassurance, you can email a  reading to an alivecor tech who can interpret it (you do have to pay for that).  

[nomdeguerre]

You've had good suggestions for heart rate. My main problem was getting an accurate bp when standing. I have not found an automatic bp monitor that doesn't give an error message when my bp gets low enough to cause presyncope. (30-60 mm systolic.) I had to purchase a stethoscope and a manual bp cuff to be able to get a more accurate reading.

When I was trying to get diagnosed, I kept a chart with my bp and pulse lying, sitting, and standing for 3min, 5 min, and 10 min. (This was early in the process when I was still able to stand for 10 min.)  I kept this for about 2 weeks and brought the data with me to my doc. He, like most doctors I know, likes to have data and felt I was a reliable source.

Good luck in getting your diagnosis. It can be a real battle. I got a lot of information from reading various posts on this website. It was enormously helpful.

[orion]

8 hours ago, nomdeguerre said:

You've had good suggestions for heart rate. My main problem was getting an accurate bp when standing. I have not found an automatic bp monitor that doesn't give an error message when my bp gets low enough to cause presyncope. (30-60 mm systolic.) I had to purchase a stethoscope and a manual bp cuff to be able to get a more accurate reading.

When I was trying to get diagnosed, I kept a chart with my bp and pulse lying, sitting, and standing for 3min, 5 min, and 10 min. (This was early in the process when I was still able to stand for 10 min.)  I kept this for about 2 weeks and brought the data with me to my doc. He, like most doctors I know, likes to have data and felt I was a reliable source.

Good luck in getting your diagnosis. It can be a real battle. I got a lot of information from reading various posts on this website. It was enormously helpful.

Can BP cuffs measure your BP accurately when standing?  

[orion]

15 hours ago, HangingByAThread said:

I swear by my Alivecor Kardia monitor. It costs about $125 and you no longer need a prescription (mine was recommended by my electrophysiologist). It is a case that fits on the back of your smartphone and then you install the app on your phone. You can record and store tons of high quality EKGs that you can then email to your doctor or print out. The app also flags abnormal heart rhythms and if you really need reassurance, you can email a  reading to an alivecor tech who can interpret it (you do have to pay for that).  

I have heard of Alivecor Kardia but I'm too afraid to buy it because it might give me anxiety. 

[Nathalie]

1. I don't know if I would worry about a watch that monitors blood pressure and oxygen levels. I know there are people out there who have low blood pressure and POTS...probably lots, but interestingly enough, the criteria used to diagnose POTS doesn't include low blood pressure upon standing. 

Vanderbuilt Autonomic Dysfunction Center:

Diagnostic Criteria for POTS:

POTS is defined as a sustained heart rate increment of >30 beats/minute within 10 min of standing or head-up tilt in the absence of orthostatic hypotension (the blood pressure does not drop by more than 20/10 mmHg).

 

2. The poor-man's tilt table test can be done at home.

About the easiest  way to tell test your heart rate in the absence of a tilt-table test, is to lie down on your bed for 5-10 or maybe even 20 minutes and then check your resting heart rate. Then stand up and check your heart rate while simply standing still for a few minutes. There should be at least a 30 beat per minute increase for a POTS diagnosis.

If you can't find your pulse by feeling your wrist or side of your neck, there are watches out there that will track your heart rate for you. I have a FitBit Alta HR that does okay. The watch piece turns off after a second, which is unhelpful (unless I want to sneak a quick look at what my heart rate is then and there), but the APP for your phone gives you a second to second live stream view of your heart rate. So as long as your phone is on, you can watch what your heart rate is doing on the screen. (Assuming a normal sinus rhythm, of course). From what I've read online from people, it is not likely to be useful for arrythmia monitoring.

Hope that helps.