Imagine this: You are working out in a gym, maybe you are jogging with your friends or you’re attending a conference. When suddenly your Smartwatch sends you a notification that your heart rate has spiked, can this be a sign of a heart attack?
Nowadays, smart watches have become an important tool for everyday life. It can monitor your heart rate,blood oxygen level (Spo2), track your sleep, menstural cycle, respiratory rate, skin temperature, fitness tracking and even blood sugar levels (which is still in development as of 2024)
But the question we have to ask is how reliable are these devices? Can a smartwatch detect a heart attack? Or it’s just a hoax made by smartwatches brands to sell their products. So if you are still wondering the accuracy of smart watches in detecting heart attacks, you are in the right place, let’s dive into these devices which can monitor your heart rate, and also learn the truth behind their alerts and how to truly keep yourselves safe by using these devices. I would suggest you to keep reading to truly understand how smartwatches can help you during heart attack!!!
Table of Contents
How heart attacks are detected and warning signs
Heart attacks are infractions which happen when there is a less blood flow in the heart. Early detection of heart attack is crucial to prevent mortality. Here I have listed several methods of detecting a heart attack. They are:
Methods of Detecting Heart Attacks:
Electrocardiogram(ECG): ECG can predict abnormalities in the heart by measuring the electrical activity in the heart function.
Photoplethysmopraphy(PPG): PPG is not widely known compared to ECG, but this device is widely used to identify coronary artery disease (CAD), which can be used to identify heart attacks.
Smartwatches: Many smart watches come with ECG capability and heart rate monitoring, allowing its user to monitor their heart rate. For example smartwatches can notify users of high heart rate (Tachycardia) and low heart rate (Bradycardia), they can also monitor irregular heart rhythms which is a crucial factor of heart attack. There are multiple cases of how smartwatches helped in detecting the heart attack before it happened.
Common signs of heart attack:
Check Discomfort: If you feel a sudden discomfort in the middle of your chest and the pain keeps going and coming back this could be a possible sign of a heart attack
Discomfort in Upper Body: There are other methods to identify heart attacks if you are experiencing pain in both hands, shoulders, knees or jaws, and in the upper part of the stomach it could be a possible sign of a heart attack.
Shortness of breath: if you are suddenly facing shortness of breath or difficulty to breathe normally this could be a possible sign of heart attack
Other signs: Breaking out in cold sweat, nausea and dizziness could also be a potential sign of heart rate spiking.
Can smart watch Monitor Heart health
Yes, smartwatches can monitor heart health, they primarily use sensors to track heart rate. Nowadays, a lot of people use smartwatches to keep track of their cardiovascular health. These devices can provide real time data on health conditions.
Smartwatch features for heart rate monitoring:
ECG and PPG: Most of the common smart watches come with PPG, which can monitor the volume of the blood flow in the wrist to estimate the heart rate. Some advanced smart watches include ECG functionality that can monitor the heart’s electrical activity.Here are some of the devices with ECG available in 2024. They are:
- Apple Watches series 9
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
- Garmin Venu 3
- Noise color fit Pro 4
- Fire-boltt Ninja 3
- Amazfit GTR 4
Heart Rate Variability (HRV):
Smart watches come with heart rate variability, which is an important function to monitor the heart. So changes in heart rate variability can be an indicator.
Activity tracking: Many smartwatches have activity tracking for fitness and cardiovascular health, so regular exercise and monitoring with alerts and goal setting in smartwatches can improve heart health.
Alerts for Abnormal reading: Smart watches are capable of sending alerts if they detect abnormal rhythms or activity, prompting users to get immediate medical advice.
Integration with Health Apps: Based on data provided by the smart watches, allowing to track heart rate through health apps can be beneficial in getting insights into overall health conditions in the long run.
Can a smartwatch detect a heart attack early?
Smart watches can detect heart attacks early, but they are not completely foolproof because they only monitor heart rate, rhythm and other parameters. You can use these factors as an indicator to predict possible heart attacks, I would suggest you visit your doctor if you feel any of the signs I have mentioned below:
Signs of heart attack in smartwatch
Irregular Heart Rhythm: Irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmias) through an ECG function in your smartwatch can be a sign of heart issues.
Elevated Heart Rate: High heart rate or low heart rate can be a warning of a heart condition that needs to be checked immediately.
Notification of symptoms: some smartwatches can send alerts if there is a spike in heart rate or shortness of breath. This can be a sign of heart attack
ECG Vs Smartwatch detection
| Feature | ECG | Smartwatch ECG |
| Accuracy | High | Not precise |
| Continuous Monitoring | limited | Continuous Monitoring Available |
| Friendliness | Need medical professional | Can be done at home |
| Data | Need professional guidance | Immediate feedback |
| Cost | High | affordable |
Limitation of smartwatch in detecting Heart Attack
Even though smartwatches are equipped with ECG and PPG you are limited to a certain extent when it comes to detecting heart attack through machine learning:
False positives/ Negatives: Smartwatches are not always accurate , sometimes they fail to detect irregularities in the heart rate or they can provide you with false positives that means they can indicate a problem even if there are no issues with your health condition.
Diagnostic Capability: smartwatch ECG can only predict change in rhythm, but they are not able to give you accurate information on what type of heart disease based on the symptoms and alerts. for example(CAD(Coronary heart disease), congenital heart disease, structural heart disease)
Skin tone:
The accuracy of heart rate and Ecg can be affected by skin tone or poor contact with the skin, these can provide irrelevant data on heart condition
Battery issues:
Even though smartwatches can support 24/7, if they run out of power they cannot provide you with heart monitoring. There are chances of you missing signs of heart attacks during that period.
Future of Heart Rate Monitoring
Future of heart rate monitoring in smartwatches is going to depend entirely upon AI integration and improving the sensors to give even more accurate information on heart rate readings. Let’s look into some key trends for heart rate monitoring in 2024:
Improved Accuracy: Most of the smartwatch companies started upgrading their sensors to get accurate heart rate readings, these sensors can give accurate information even during physical workouts.
Multiple sensor Integration:
Smart watches can be integrated with multiple sensors other than heart rate like Spo2, temperature, and hydration levels to get the overall data on cardiovascular health.
Contactless monitoring:
Future smartwatches may use non contactless sensors to monitor heart rate, like cameras, to detect skin color, blood flow and provide data on heart rate.
Remote patient monitoring: nowadays doctors keep track of patients’ health with remote monitoring. In future, we can expect data can be shared directly from smartwatch to concerned medical professional.
Final Thoughts
With such devices we have come a long way from fitness tracking to monitoring heart rate , it always best to know the limitation of such devices but it should never replace professional advice at any point. Make sure you are using a smartwatch correctly to detect heart attacks? Keep the sensors clean, always look at alerts if there are any potential issues, and immediately check with the concerned professional
FAQ
Are smartwatches heart rate reading accurate?
When you are at rest or doing moderate activity smartwatch heart rate reading is somewhat accurate, but when you are doing intense physical workouts, they are not that reliable.
What features should I look for in a smartwatch for heart health?
Look for smartwatches that have features like inbuilt PPG and ECG. Another important feature is Spo2 monitoring this gives data on overall health. Nowadays smartwatches also come with stress monitoring and HRV. All these features can provide data on overall heart health.
Can smartwatches monitor heart rate during exercise?
Yes, smartwatches can monitor heart rate during workout, one of the key features I always look for is his continuous heart rate monitoring , it can vary if it is a high intense workout but it is somewhat accurate
What is the best smartwatch for heart health?
Here are some best smartwatches for heart health in 2024:
1) Apple Watch series 9
2) Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
3) Fitbit sense 2
4) Noise Color Fit Pro 4
5) Fire-Bolt ninja 3
6) Zeb Rush
Do doctors recommend smart watches?
Yes, doctors recommend smartwatches for people who have underlying heart disease , these smartwatch can monitor heart rate regularly.
Which smartwatch has irregular heartbeat warning?
Several smartwatches come with irregular heartbeat warnings. Here are a few suggestions:
1) Apple watch series 9
2) Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
3) Noise Color fit Pro 4
