Dodged a bullet

sheepfarmer

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thanks to Apple Watch. Posting not to tout Apple, but to let some folks know of some useful features.

If you have your watch on and your heart rate drops below a certain level, say 40 bpm, and you can set it, it will send you a notification. Mine did, and when I went to see doc it was high, so he blew me off. After several episodes, I started recording the ecg during these episodes, and the traces are saved to the phone. When the rate is very low or irregular the watch will announce that it is a poor quality recording and it doesn’t know what it is, afib or sinus rhythm, but it will save it anyway. Well you can look at the recording and draw some conclusions yourself. I did and after a couple that were pretty weird, decided I’d better go to the er, where several people looked at the recording and said ‘ohh”. They wanted to see it on their equipment, and eventually it went into “wonky” mode and to make a long story short I came home 3 days later with a pacemaker. Nearly complete conduction block. If it hadn’t been for the recording feature they might have sent me home because rate had bounced back by the time I got there. Symptomatically all I had was a little shortness of breath. Complete conduction block and I guess it is curtains.

i got the watch because of the fall detection feature, which also works. It also tells the time and answers calls, but this was a feature I hadn’t considered.
 
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58Ford

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Hey, we are all doing better than Ray Liotta today!
 
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Henro

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Amazing story!

Were they able to download the data from your watch for viewing on their equipment, or did they keep you there hooked up to theirs?
 

sheepfarmer

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Amazing story!

Were they able to download the data from your watch for viewing on their equipment, or did they keep you there hooked up to theirs?
I was kept there hooked up to theirs for a 12 lead ekg which is much more informative than you can get measuring voltage basically between your left and right hands. You can send the recording to someone else from the watch apparently, but I haven't tried it. When ventricular contractions got down around 26bpm and wouldn't respond to an atropine or dopamine drip, they wouldn't let me move.
 

Henro

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I was kept there hooked up to theirs for a 12 lead ekg which is much more informative than you can get measuring voltage basically between your left and right hands. You can send the recording to someone else from the watch apparently, but I haven't tried it. When ventricular contractions got down around 26bpm and wouldn't respond to an atropine or dopamine drip, they wouldn't let me move.
Glad it worked out. You can thank the watch I think. Technology wins this time. Without it the outcome might have been different.

As you said, the original doctor blew you off. Thank God for the Apple watch! AND that the ER people took the time to hear what your were saying...
 

notaz3

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Same thing happened with me and my Samsung watch. Had some bad reading through the watch and it was enough for the cardiologist to order a wearable EEG for a seven day test. Waiting on the results.
 
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Daren Todd

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Same thing happened with me and my Samsung watch. Had some bad reading through the watch and it was enough for the cardiologist to order a wearable EEG for a seven day test. Waiting on the results.
I have the Samsung watch as well. As far as I've seen with mine it just measures and tracks heart rate. Is that what your reading was on that caused your docs concern??
 

sheepfarmer

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I have the Samsung watch as well. As far as I've seen with mine it just measures and tracks heart rate. Is that what your reading was on that caused your docs concern??
Well 26 to 30 bpm is not good, my normal resting rate is around 60, but it was the shape and spacing of the waveforms determined with the ecg function. It is recorded with the watch on one wrist and pressing the crown with a finger on the other hand.. I assume it is measuring the voltage between the two hands across the chest. It showed a lot of aborted or missed contractions in wonky mode, and then the rate after an hour or 2 might jump up to 77, and all would fire. I'm thinking like an engine with 3 or 4 loose spark plug wires.
 

Mrlunchbox

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I suffer from (thankfully benign) PVCs. I can use my watch to see them which I find pretty cool. Just as with yourself I have even shown my doctor for which makes me feel a lot better. I just upgraded to a series 7 and that does blood oxygen levels. That is also a great feature.
 

Daren Todd

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Well 26 to 30 bpm is not good, my normal resting rate is around 60, but it was the shape and spacing of the waveforms determined with the ecg function. It is recorded with the watch on one wrist and pressing the crown with a finger on the other hand.. I assume it is measuring the voltage between the two hands across the chest. It showed a lot of aborted or missed contractions in wonky mode, and then the rate after an hour or 2 might jump up to 77, and all would fire. I'm thinking like an engine with 3 or 4 loose spark plug wires.
That makes sense. Glad your on the mend and caught it before it became serious.
 
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skeets

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DAYUM sheepfarmer !!! Im happy your good to go now,, that is scary to say the least
 
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Steve67

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Sheepfarmer,
just wanted to thank you for this post , it helped me to finally get to the hospital to get my afib under control. Also picked up a fitbit 5, free from health insurance to keep an eye on vitals
 
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