HRM/trackers and AFIB

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mjbnj0001
mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,078 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have persistent, silent AFIB. Have had for a number of years. I'm a couple of years into a fitness regime which concentrates in cycling and swimming, plus light hiking and walking (and diet). Am doing indoor stuff in the gym now for the winter. Am under doctor supervision.

I have been using a fingertip pulse-ox meter to measure my HR and monitor which training zone I'm in. In the gym, I feel like a dinosaur and get odd looks with the fingertip meter, and it isn't all that convenient when I pause to measure during a tough bit on the bike (think steep uphills).

I have used the pulse-ox because my docs use them. Many monitors don't cope with AFIB well. They can't properly count the HR beats. even with the pulse-ox, if I'm in an agitated AFIB state, I resort o taking several measurements to average the results). Of course, gym equipment is terrible in this regard, too, LOL.

I'm looking at all the usual suspects now: Fitbit, Garmin, Wahoo, Polar and some off brands (Amazon selection).

Any advice? Any appreciated, thankful in advance.

Other details:
1. I'm 65yo male, big guy. Initially thought a chest monitor would be best, but with a 58-60 chest, getting a long enough strap seems tough. Then there's that arm-mount from Wahoo ... looks interesting.
2. Yes, there's Kardia Mobile for AFIB monitoring. But I am looking for an activity device, not something to stop and do a sitdown fingertip thing in my dining room. I'm always in AFIB, but it isn't always noticeable or impactful.
3. With the bike, pool and gym, I don't want to always be dependent on having a phone around for data collection, so some sort of onboard memory capacity is needed to hold the data until synced. I don't need a live charting capability, as long as a real-time HR number is displayed. I can figure out my training zone in my head. If push comes to shove, a "no storage/no sync" solution might work, as long as I can get a good HR - that's the level of service I get with the fingertip pulse-ox.
4. Water resistance. No need for social media and fancy things (sleep, steps, ...). HR my only firm requirement. Reliability and reasonable endurance (I hear stories of certain devices failing after very brief times).
5. Exercised has helped greatly. Been a life-changer. Good progress, more to go.

Thanks! Sorry for the long post.

Replies

  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    I wear a Garmin (Vivoactive 3)and Fitbit (Versa) and really like them both, but I don’t have your issues.

    I’d suggest you look into the Apple Watch 4 series and later. From what I’ve read, they do some extra sensitive heart monitoring stuff.
  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
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    Its not going to be accurate with an irregular heart beat. IS there a medical need to monitor your heart rate? Unless your doc says you need to have and make sure your HR stays under a certain point I would not get one
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,070 Member
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    The fitness trackers are generally not medical grade devices. Last I heard, I think some were working on that kind of certification, but I don't know where that stands. Does your doctor approve of this kind of limited monitoring for your exercise?

    My Garmin (Vivoactive 3, now supplanted in the market by Vivoactive 4) will store data on the watch, sync to phone & cloud when back in bluetooth range. Reliable in-pool monitoring is a more expensive device; they exist, but I don't know much about them because I hate to swim.

    Most of the chest-belts I've had are elastic for a big chunk of their length. If you can't get one big enough, a local tailor could probably extend it for you not terribly expensively, if the vendors don't sell extra-long ones or extenders. All the monitoring stuff is in the front, so it should still work fine.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,078 Member
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    Fflpnari wrote: »
    Its not going to be accurate with an irregular heart beat. IS there a medical need to monitor your heart rate? Unless your doc says you need to have and make sure your HR stays under a certain point I would not get one

    thanks. doc requests i do not exceed a certain max hr.

    accordingly, in the gym i stay zone 2/3 mostly, and do a few quick intervals in zone 4 but don't push it beyond. out on the roads/trails, i occ. get in a bind, esp. with hill climbing (cycling), and i have to pause to let things settle down. my endurance is great, in contrast. i know the limitations on the fingertip pulse-ox count and work with them as best i can. i may get the new kardia mobile for, well, just life, but it isn't an exercise tool.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,078 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    The fitness trackers are generally not medical grade devices. Last I heard, I think some were working on that kind of certification, but I don't know where that stands. Does your doctor approve of this kind of limited monitoring for your exercise?

    My Garmin (Vivoactive 3, now supplanted in the market by Vivoactive 4) will store data on the watch, sync to phone & cloud when back in bluetooth range. Reliable in-pool monitoring is a more expensive device; they exist, but I don't know much about them because I hate to swim.

    Most of the chest-belts I've had are elastic for a big chunk of their length. If you can't get one big enough, a local tailor could probably extend it for you not terribly expensively, if the vendors don't sell extra-long ones or extenders. All the monitoring stuff is in the front, so it should still work fine.

    thanks. kardia mobile is supposedly certified, but my doc isn't as open to data not from the strips he runs during my office visit. i can understand that, my wife is in health care. i'm hoping for a better exercise solution. good idea about strap mods, that might be something.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    I wouldn't trust a wrist monitor with my life over a medical issue.

    I have a Garmin watch and the HR at the wrist has become pretty good, but not as much for cycling, lifting, or skiing. My hunch is it's because of the way your wrists bend.

    Some chest straps are modular, with a part you can remove if you're small. I bet you could make it work. Or have it altered as @AnnPT77 suggests l wisely suggests.

    You can probably use your rate of breathing and ability to talk to keep yourself from overdoing it. Breathing and HR are correlated, your heart pumps the blood your breath takes in.

    Do the bikes at your gym report watts? If so this is an one-time measure of effort and you can use that to find your red line too. Mainly I'm suggesting alternatives because I think the most common options don't deal with an irregular heartbeat very well.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,078 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    I wouldn't trust a wrist monitor with my life over a medical issue.

    ...

    Do the bikes at your gym report watts? If so this is an one-time measure of effort and you can use that to find your red line too. Mainly I'm suggesting alternatives because I think the most common options don't deal with an irregular heartbeat very well.

    Of course, I always seem to have the exceptional conditions that common options don't deal with, lol.

    Not all the bikes do watts. It's post-Jan 1 busy season in there, so I take what I can get. Until the herd thins out a bit again. I have my "favorite" bike, so that my numbers are consistently comparable for progress and results, but right now, I'm bouncing around a few different ones. My daughter gave me a trainer series for Christmas, which I'm working through, so my (midmorning) start time at the gym is determined by that, as opposed to my usual "slack time" 130-2pm starts (i.e., when everyone's done with lunch/back to work and not yet afterwork/afterschool).

    Thanks for your thoughts.

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