Apple Watch for heart rate?

[1xsculler]

Update 10/4/22:
After going through frustration with three iterations of Apple Watches concerning HR accuracy and consistency I am now convinced that the only way to get useful HR readings on an Apple Watch is to pair it with a Bluetooth chest strap transmitter like an NK. It connects and pairs with ease and then your watch will display HR consistently and constantly and apparently accurately.

My Apple Watch series 7 seems to be only moderately accurate and only moderately consistent when used by itself to monitor my heart rate but when I have my chest strap Speed Coach transmitter on my Apple Watch seems to display a more accurate and consistent HR.
Is this just my imagination or is it possible that my watch may pick up the signal from my chest strap transmitter?
I guess I should ask this question on an Apple Watch forum too.

[KitD]

My Garmin watch can receive from an external HRM, but you have to explicitly configure it to do that. Apple may well have the option to do it automatically, but it seems odd to do it by default out of the box.

[sandor]

Have you paired the chest strap to your phone?

It could have passed on the bluetooth device to your watch automagically.

[1xsculler]

I didn’t know I could pair a Speed Coach chest strap transmitter to my iPhone. Please tell me more.

[sandor]

I didn’t know I could pair a Speed Coach chest strap transmitter to my iPhone. Please tell me more.

The NK heart rate strap (for the newer models with training pack at least) connect via bluetooth, not ANT+ (the older workout item wireless connection method)

[LakeGator]

As has already been made clear from the replies above the chest strap is a far better way to track heart rate. I am not overly concerned with heart rate as I no longer compete or even row with any intensity, but my Garmin Vivoactive 3 is very unreliable for heart rate and, therefore, calories. This is well known in the Garmin forums. Some days my calories going down river will be almost 600 calories and the return upriver will be less than 100. My GUESS is that the light detection (Photoplethysmography) gets confused by the wrist action of feathering.

The bottom line is that if you are serious about heart rate, you need to use a chest strap.

[lt.wolf]

I use the Apple Watch , I flip the unit to the bottom of my wrist for better readings

I have the following installed
Zones
Healthfit
SleepWatch
Athlytic


Readings are great on all apps


For a workout do a 30 min piece 26-28 and open for the Measure and then sprint the last 2-3 mins .

I have measured 208 -210 on several devices , whoop too. Age 52 , resting heart rate low 40 upper 30s

[1xsculler]

Thanks, Sean, for the underside of wrist advice.
I use my Apple Watch, as a convenience, for all training but I agree with a previous post that a chest strap transmitter is more accurate. My question still is: will an Apple Watch pick up the Bluetooth signal from a Bluetooth NK transmitter?
For competition I will always install my Speed Coach.

Curious why one lakegator no longer competes or gets his HR up???

[sandor]

Thanks, Sean, for the underside of wrist advice.
I use my Apple Watch, as a convenience, for all training but I agree with a previous post that a chest strap transmitter is more accurate. My question still is: will an Apple Watch pick up the Bluetooth signal from a Bluetooth NK transmitter?
For competition I will always install my Speed Coach.

Curious why one lakegator no longer competes or gets his HR up???

You can pair a bluetooth chest strap to the AppleWatch

My question re: your phone & pairing is because Apple device can “pass through” paired bluetooth devices (ie headphones on iPhone -> AppleTV, etc)

So i thought perhaps your phone was passing through to your watch? (just a guess)

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207941

If you’re not able to get a consistent reading because of any of these factors, you can connect your Apple Watch wirelessly to external heart rate monitors such as Bluetooth chest straps. Learn how to pair Bluetooth accessories.

[LakeGator]

Sorry to start a digression from the topic but I thought I would answer the implied question from 1xsculler about why I don’t still get it up. Before the digression below, I did leave out a key part of my previous reply and that is that the Apple watch does seem to do a far better job of detecting pulse and heart action than other wrist-based detection devices. The Garmin seems to be the poorest and the Fitbit in between – based on various discussions around the docks and interweb.

I no longer row hard due to being diagnosed with a dilated aorta in 2015. Ironically, this was an incidental discovery from a CT scan checking to see if I had cracked a rib. The doctors were adamant that rowing was far too dangerous, so I stopped for the rest of that year. I was miserable and got to really hate riding my bike. My primary care doctor did his best to see if there was a way to let me row. The aorta size did not change over the next year - or since - so the cardiac surgeon said I could row if I could keep my systolic blood pressure under 140. It was fun going out with a blood pressure cuff, but I was about to keep the BP under 140. I basically use low to moderate pressure to go for a jog on the water. I row about 300k a month and enjoy it but hate to see how horrible my split times are compared to the good old days. It also helps that I am in my mid 70s, so I am happy to be on TOP of the water.

And now, back to the topic -

[1xsculler]

I answered my own question with your help.
Sure enough my Apple Watch will connect to my Bluetooth NK transmitter.

[Stelph]

Another great place for an optical HR monitor is against the temple - I usually use a Polar OH1 under a headband or cap and its perfect, 100% accuracy (although you have to resist the urge to take your hat off!) A Polar watch or apple watch would similarly work in a squeeze but again, worries would be it could go splash