My watch has sent me a warning to say my resting heart rate is high

[AintNobodyHereButUsChickens]

Stupid question but should I do anything?! I feel absolutely awful, pretty certain I had a temperature this morning in bed, I was boiling hot and shivery. My nose is bunged up and my throat is killing 🙁

The photo of my watch is from just now, I've been sitting in the car for the last 10 minutes!

That’s an incredibly high resting pulse. Call 111 now.

Have you checked your pulse yourself? Is it accurate? What would your pulse normally be at this time of day for what you are doing?

It is but she isn't resting.

OP have you been driving or are you just sitting in the car for a random reason?

Take your pulse while you are sitting quietly then come back.

Very high pulse. As you're feels my so ill as well I'd be concerned about potential sepsis.

Sorry for the gobbledegook post. Cat was trying to claim the phone as his own.

I don't know how to check it myself 😳

I just checked and my average resting rate is 66-76bpm

She says she’s been sitting in the car, that’s far too high a pulse for that. Had she been active the watch would not be giving a warning.

When I got the alert on my watch I had just been sitting for about 15 mins

Oh and yes driving, I had to take DD to school

My dad went to a&e after his watch said the same thing. They almost rolled their eyes - apparently apple watches send people in all the time and it’s rarely real. In his case when I talked to him afterwards we realised he’d been drinking a lot the night before, was very tired - and that was likely the cause.

Check your heart rate manually (i.e. the fingers on the wrist method).

Have you received the notification specifically, or do you mean that you've spotted that reading yourself?

The reason I ask is that Apple — assuming that's an Apple Watch, it looks like one — sends HR warnings when the heart rate has been abnormally high (or abnormally low) for several minutes consistently. I think it's six minutes, ten minutes, something like that.

If you've just had a random high readout, it could be something or it could be device error. All wearables misread every so often, even Apple ones.

All your symptoms sound like Covid..here everyone is starting with shivering at the moment followed by your other symptoms especially the sore throat.

This was me on Tuesday morning
I tested + for covid later that day

This is true. My dad's cardiologist told him that over 90% of people who come in after having had a high HR or afib warning from their smartwatch turn out to have nothing wrong with them, it's just a device error/data misread. Even the best smartwatches aren't medical devices.

I tried, I can't feel anything. Yes I had a notification, it keeps giving me really high readings every time I check it

DH was advised to get an Apple watch by his cardiologist to keep an eye on his heart rhythm as he's got atrial fibrilation. He takes ECG's on there and sends them into the consultant, so they're clearly of some value. He was told to go into A & E if his went above 200 for a prolonged period of time or under 50.

As a one off, I wouldn't panic but if it happens again OP then I'd book an appointment with your GP and print the readings out.

Take your temp
If you have a temp you've probably got covid induced tachycardia

It's not a one off reading though is it? It's high over a period of time.
I had a random reading of 180 one day - only one and the rest in the normal range - so I ignored it.
This starts on or poss before 810 and still high at 8.56
Could be covid

Get checked out. DHs watch alerted him to his arterial fibrillation.

Was just about to say what others have said I’d you’re brewing an infection of some kind it could be the cause, if you check yourself, 2 fingers on the wrist just follow down your thumb to your wrist you should feel it, and count for 1 minute that will give you an accurate reading

im a student nurse and we are told to check pulse manually every time we do obs as the machines aren't a reliable number and don’t pick up other problems e.g. irregular pulse

Resting in medical terms means lying flat on your back for 10 mins before a recording is made.

OP

The average resting is fine, normal is 60-100 bpm AT REST but any exercise even sitting in a chair will increase it.

It's mostly the watch isn't in contact with your skin for a bit and that's a false reading.

To take your pulse you need two fingers, the two next to your thumb, fell for a pulse in the opposite risk, it should be in a straight line from your thumb.

You might also find it in your neck just under your jaw.

Just count the pulse for a full min if you can and then you have the rate, if not count for 15 seconds then multiply by 4.

Your HR goes u in response to lots of things, digesting food, exercise but in your case I am guessing it is fever.

Taking your pulse is better than a watch or even a full 12 lead ECG because it is possible to have a normal ECG but no cardiac output, it is rare and you would probably already be in hospital.

im a student nurse and we are told to check pulse manually every time we do obs as the machines aren't a reliable number and don’t pick up other problems e.g. irregular pulse

Halleluiah!

I have seen so many nurses take the 'pulse' from a monitor. When I rule the world it will be the law to take the pulse, I will also insist nurses actually place the transducer in the correct place for electronic BPs and ideally all nurses will learn to take a BP on the old fashioned sphyg.

@sashh we are also taught to count for the whole minute for resps and pulse as some of the older nurses will only count to 30 and double it again potentially missing something.

I will be honest I’m still getting to grips with manual BP

normal to have higher testing heart rate when fighting an infection.

I had that happen with my Fitbit back in December. I should have gone to the hospital really as my heart rate was all over the place for 24 hours. A few days later I got a positive COVID test so be on the lookout for that.
2 weeks ago I had a high resting heart rate on my Fitbit again and I did go to hospital this time and it turned out I had pneumonia.
So based on those 2 things, I would definitely keep an eye on it as they are fairly accurate in my experience.