Can anyone recommend a good wrist heart rate monitor?

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soti

Senior Member
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I know they're not that great but hoping to wear it all the time so not crazy about ones with a strap. Curious to hear people's experiences.
 
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arewenearlythereyet

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Love them...I started with a mio alpha which is good because you can set it to beep at you when you go over a certain bpm. You can also link this to a few apps to download the data. I'm sure there are loads now that do the same. This worked well for me in that it trained my pacing in a kind of Pavlov dog kind of way. I used it to mow the lawn on one of my good days. Admittedly I had to sit down every 5 minutes but it worked...no crash. I now don't need the warning beeps so I have a Fitbit blaze which does steps and heart rate. It doesn't beep at you but it synchs to a phone app to show you how active you are being during the day so I periodically look at that and pace my day and week accordingly. I also syncs this to a calorie counting app to make sure I don't overeat vs the calories I've burned (not always successfully)
 
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erin

Senior Member
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I need one too, I don't even know what to look for. I'd be quite happy to use it whenever I feel like measuring, not to wear it all the time. Is there such a device? Sorry about hijacking the thread.
 
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Paralee

Senior Member
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571
Location
USA
Maybe I'm biased but I love the Omrons. I take mine and titrate it at the dr.'s occasionally and it is always as in sync as they'll get, realizing of course that they will never really actually "match". They're always super close. Since I've been taking my bp and pulse several times a day (usually) they get a lot of wear and tear and last for years.
Sounds like I'm advertising for them but I've tried several others and was not happy, but I didn't try them all and surely there are other brands just as good. You definitely need an accurate one, so I pay the price.
Good luck.
Edit: I really need to re-read posts before I respond. I don't know if my brand has a type that will do what you want, I've never even heard of them. If you find one, I hope you'll post and let us know. Thanks, Paralee (red smiley face)
 
trishrhymes

trishrhymes

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2,158
If you only want to know your heart rate occasionally, you can simply take your pulse with finger on wrist or neck ( if you can find it). That's what I've been doing.

Or you can get a cheap clip on finger pulse oximeter that measures pulse and blood oxygen, and keep it with you to use when you want to.

or if you want continuous monitoring there are lots of brands. I've just bought a fitbit wrist monitor that does heart rate and activity / steps, but it's not even out of the packet yet... I chose this brand because I'm already using a fitbit activity monitor, so it's familiar. No idea yet how good it is.
 
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soti

Senior Member
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109
I'm thinking like arewenearlythereyet was saying, something that beeps when you hit a certain range.

I do have an Omron which is fantastic for hr and bp though not an all-day affair.
 
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erin

Senior Member
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885
trishrhymes said:
If you only want to know your heart rate occasionally, you can simply take your pulse with finger on wrist or neck ( if you can find it). That's what I've been doing.

Or you can get a cheap clip on finger pulse oximeter that measures pulse and blood oxygen, and keep it with you to use when you want to.

or if you want continuous monitoring there are lots of brands. I've just bought a fitbit wrist monitor that does heart rate and activity / steps, but it's not even out of the packet yet... I chose this brand because I'm already using a fitbit activity monitor, so it's familiar. No idea yet how good it is.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this post. Very useful for me, especially finger pulse oximeter part. I find it difficult to find my pulse and counting seems to be hard. Especially in bed in the morning. I fall asleep during the process...
 
Murph

Murph

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I use the fitbit charge 2. It measures HR, sleep, steps. The app is quite easy to use. I like it a lot, wear it every day, and check it all the time. I wouldn't be without it.

Downsides: it's a bit expensive, not too easy on the eye, and I must say the build quality of fitbits is not great. They work fine, but the physical straps seem to fall apart. I'm onto my 3rd in 18 months (all replaced on warranty!)

EDIT: If you want intermittent HR monitoring and you can't find your pulse, there are some cool free apps. You just put your finger tip on the camera of your smartphone and it watches the pulse. It sounds ridiculous but the technology is the same as in all these wrist monitors, and you apparently actually get a much better read at the finger tip. I used one of these apps for ages before I got my fitbit.
 
MastBCrazy

MastBCrazy

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Location
Toronto, ON
Started with a cheap pulse oximeter. It was helpful information, but not as practical to use for pacing as dedicated heart rate monitors (if you can afford the cost). I have really liked the help documenting my sleep and total steps in a day. For pacing after a prolonged increase in severity, I have found a dedicated heart rate monitor to be very helpful.

I also use a Polar A360. A key factor for me: I can turn off the radio on my Polar A360, as I'm electrohypersensitive. It also allows syncing/charging by cable connection to computer (so don't need wireless at all). It is sufficiently water resistant to help pacing in the shower (when to sit). It seems reasonably accurate for catching when and how much I sleep, as well as picking up total 'steps' (counts steps even when not recording an event). I only truly track my major exertions (shower, take dog out, etc). Also, as I do similar activities from one day to the next, seeing the increase in heart rate to do a typical activity tells me to back off as I'm close to (or past) the point of PEM. A device that can potentially warn of PEM has been very helpful.

I find the monitor good to slow me down when walking, and to sit more when showering. I wear it tightly during an activity, but more loosely otherwise, and find it relatively comfortable.
 
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soti

Senior Member
Messages
109
thanks everyone for your input. so am considering fitbit charge 2 hr vs. mio alpha 2 vs. vivosmart. I agree with @TiredSam that the vibrating alarm could be a cool feature to have.

I wonder, since everyone else on the planet needs to be encouraged to exercise, does anyone know if these come with annoying "goals" and "nudges" to move more that one can't turn off? because that would really get to me.
 
trishrhymes

trishrhymes

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2,158
soti said:
thanks everyone for your input. so am considering fitbit charge 2 hr vs. mio alpha 2 vs. vivosmart. I agree with @TiredSam that the vibrating alarm could be a cool feature to have.

I wonder, since everyone else on the planet needs to be encouraged to exercise, does anyone know if these come with annoying "goals" and "nudges" to move more that one can't turn off? because that would really get to me.
Click to expand...

I have a Fitbit of the sort that just measures steps, not pulse. I can set it to vibrate when I have completed a number of steps I choose. For me at the moment it's set at 1250. (For steps, read wrist moves, since I wear it on my non-dominant wrist).

I can also tap it and a row of lights come on, with the number of the 5 lights that come on telling me how many increments of 250 steps I've completed. Obviously if I'd set my target as 10000 steps, the lights would register ever 2000 steps. I wish! I reckon I've done well if it vibrates as I'm undressing in the evening. And badly if it vibrates at lunch time!

The only 'nudge' I get is when I look up my week's data on my computer, it tells me how many steps I did on my 'best' day, which, for me is my worst day because I've exceeded my target by the most!

I've just bought a Fitbit HR to do heart rate as well, but it's still in its box. I think vibrating when my heart rate reaches a level I set would be useful. I confess I'm not sure whether it does that. Which statement is no use to you at all...
 
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TiredSam

TiredSam

The wise nematode hibernates
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soti said:
thanks everyone for your input. so am considering fitbit charge 2 hr vs. mio alpha 2 vs. vivosmart. I agree with @TiredSam that the vibrating alarm could be a cool feature to have.

I wonder, since everyone else on the planet needs to be encouraged to exercise, does anyone know if these come with annoying "goals" and "nudges" to move more that one can't turn off? because that would really get to me.
Click to expand...
Mine doesn't have any annoying pre-sets. I can set all the levels when the alarm vibrates (maximum and minimum), and use it to make sure I don't exceed my maximum HR. If you have to set a minimum, set it to below a level you would ever reach, for example HR of 20. If that alarm ever rings I'll be dead and past caring anyway. I don't use the steps function, but I could set it to a low target that I don't want to exceed. I also have a "do not disturb" button which turns off all alarms, but the screen still flashes a message, which is handy for when I don't want those around me to wonder why my wrist is buzzing.
 
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