Monday night, I suddenly started feeling unwell (fatigue, exhaustion, shortness of breath, confusion). I ran an ECG, and it showed signs of Afib (never diagnosed before). I didn’t think much of it and went to bed.
The next morning, I woke up feeling worse (nausea, chest pain, racing heart, heart palpitations). I ran another ECG, and it still showed Afib. I brushed it off and went to my grad classes, but things didn’t get better. While sitting in lecture, my heart rate jumped to 146.
After more Afib alerts, I came home and went to urgent care. The nurse there said “I’m sure it’s just COVID (negative test) or a virus (negative flu and strep). People your age (22) don’t have arrhythmias, plus the Apple Watch isn’t reliable.” After running their own ECG, her tune changed, and I was sent to the ER due to an unusual ECG.
Six hours later in the ER, they still couldn’t figure out what was going on, so I was sent home with a Zio heart monitor and a cardiologist appointment.
The point is, my AWS9 detected Afib, and although we’re not sure exactly what’s wrong yet, something is definitely off. Shoutout to my Apple Watch for alerting me when I knew something wasn’t right!
TLDR: Felt unwell, AWS9 detected Afib, sent to the ER, and now being tested for heart issues due to the Apple Watch alert.
What do you mean they couldn’t figure out what was going on? Didn’t the ECG show Afib?
I had two instances where my watch detected Afib while I was asleep. Both times, I ended up at the ER, and my heart was brought back into rhythm—once with medicine, once with shock.
@Denim
At urgent care, they didn’t have a cardiologist. The nurses looked at my results and saw a strange rhythm. But when I got to the ER, the ECG didn’t show Afib anymore, so they gave me a heart monitor to track things continuously.
Wow, this is really impressive, and I’m glad you got tested!
Did you have Afib history turned on, or was the notification from the ‘irregular rhythm’ feature? I want to make sure my settings are right if something like this happens to me
@Ann
I had the Afib history turned on, but since I’d only had it set up for less than 24 hours, I was manually checking my ECG and getting the Afib message.
Hayes said: @Ann
I had the Afib history turned on, but since I’d only had it set up for less than 24 hours, I was manually checking my ECG and getting the Afib message.
Your Apple Watch tracing doesn’t look like Afib. It might be something else, but it’s not Afib.
Hayes said: @Blaire
Yeah, that’s what the doctors said too. The watch showed something was wrong, but it wasn’t Afib, which is why they’re running more tests.
Hayes said: @Blaire
Yeah, that’s what the doctors said too. The watch showed something was wrong, but it wasn’t Afib, which is why they’re running more tests.
The strips actually show Afib. I’ve been working in electrophysiology for 20 years.
I had a similar issue a few months ago. My ECG showed Afib, but it turned out I have PVCs, and I’m treating it with medication. A lot of cardiologists I’ve spoken to treat the Apple Watch like a toy. It’s great that it alerted you, but remember that medical checkups and professional equipment should always come first. I used to stress out over my watch sometimes. It’s helpful, but trust your instincts. The ads talk up the health features, but the fine print says it’s not meant for medical use. I hope you feel better soon!
