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I'm glad you're ok! Heart rate data is such a window into our emotional lives. There was the guy who recorded a breakup on his Fitbit: http://www.buzzfeed.com/

I'm glad you're ok! Heart rate data is such a window into our emotional lives. There was the guy who recorded a breakup on his Fitbit: http://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemlee/a-mans-fitbit-captured-the-exact-moment-he-felt-heartbreak http://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemlee/a-mans-fitbit-captured... Even more traumatic, there's what Game of Thrones does to your heart rate: https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/08/13/what-game-of-thrones-does-to-your-heart-rate/ https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/08/13/what-game-of-thrones... And there are potentially life-saving applications of heart rate data, like the collaboration we're building with UCSF cardiology to detect abnormal heart rhythms: https://mRhythmStudy.org https://mRhythmStudy.org Even with "just" 11 million Apple Watches sold, that's about 2,400,000,000,000 heart rate measurements per year. I think that will lead to all sorts of downstream applications.

walkingolof 11y ago
Probably enormous for individuals and society, by detecting abnormal heart rate conditions we can medicate people to prevent a stroke, which is very very serious condition which requires allot of care. But you do not need a watch, you can detect this by yourself with simple means, today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_KZlOSOOTg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_KZlOSOOTg I encourage you to see the above video, it may help you or someone you know.
- Matt3o12_ 11y ago
  What is great about these watches ist that you don't need to worry about that and it just measures it for you. Even in situations where you can't do it yourself, or simply have other things on your mind. Could you imagine someone measuring their pulse while being robbed or watching game of thrones? A wearable measures your puls in situations where you can't do it and that is the helpful part. Your heart read in controlled environments or after physical activities is Rather uninteresting because it has already been explored in depth.
agumonkey 11y ago
My cardiac system is very sensitive to emotional loss. Grandmothers = tachycardia. Last break up nearly killed me. I wish I had a fitbit so my doctors wouldn't look at me like a sad puppy who cannot find a new woman and is making things up.
- raelshark 11y ago
  I have an autonomic nervous system disorder (postural tachycardia) that causes my heart rate to skyrocket at any kind of physical or emotional stress. Basically it's like my fight-or-flight response is broken and over-reacts to everything (even from seeing blood or just standing up). Serious emotional issues can triggers panic attacks for me pretty easily. I went through a battery of heart tests that all turned up normal and I was diagnosed with anxiety, until years later when someone thought to test my nervous system. So yeah, I can relate. But those heart tests even included wearing a monitor that didn't tell them anything useful other than that it was elevated at times... but not that there was a real physiological underlying cause beyond simple anxiety. Not sure they'd put any more interest in a Fitbit's data.
  - agumonkey 11y ago
    I don't have your condition but on its worse times my circular system was about to shut down, my 4 limbs were cut to sustain the rest. For months Any activity in one part of my body would cause the rest to feel numb. Even typing with two hands would saturate my brain. The story makes them smile as in "you wouldn't be speaking anymore if you experienced this". If I had a trace of the sudden lack of blood pressure they'd at least have something quantitative to consider rather than borderline incoherent speech. That said most generalist wouldn't consider it anyway as you said.
    - raelshark 11y ago
      That's really interesting - I havent heard of those kinds of problems outside of autonomic issues. You actually got diagnosed with something else related to cardio that causes that? And yeah if it's low blood pressure-related that's hard to show them, since it changes so much and will be different in the doc's office than normal, and because there's no real way to do continuous BP monitoring the way you can with heart rate. Luckily in my case there's a simple test you can do at home or in a doctor's office to see the BP drop quickly.
stevekemp 11y ago
I read this comment-thread recently which documented somebody who noticed their heart-rate had been elevated for some time: https://np.reddit.com/r/fitbit/comments/445ppj/hr_reading_consistently_high_last_few_days/ https://np.reddit.com/r/fitbit/comments/445ppj/hr_reading_co... The reason? She was pregnant.

walkingolof 11y ago

Probably enormous for individuals and society, by detecting abnormal heart rate conditions we can medicate people to prevent a stroke, which is very very serious condition which requires allot of care. But you do not need a watch, you can detect this by yourself with simple means, today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_KZlOSOOTg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_KZlOSOOTg I encourage you to see the above video, it may help you or someone you know.

Matt3o12_ 11y ago
What is great about these watches ist that you don't need to worry about that and it just measures it for you. Even in situations where you can't do it yourself, or simply have other things on your mind. Could you imagine someone measuring their pulse while being robbed or watching game of thrones? A wearable measures your puls in situations where you can't do it and that is the helpful part. Your heart read in controlled environments or after physical activities is Rather uninteresting because it has already been explored in depth.

agumonkey 11y ago

My cardiac system is very sensitive to emotional loss. Grandmothers = tachycardia. Last break up nearly killed me. I wish I had a fitbit so my doctors wouldn't look at me like a sad puppy who cannot find a new woman and is making things up.

raelshark 11y ago
I have an autonomic nervous system disorder (postural tachycardia) that causes my heart rate to skyrocket at any kind of physical or emotional stress. Basically it's like my fight-or-flight response is broken and over-reacts to everything (even from seeing blood or just standing up). Serious emotional issues can triggers panic attacks for me pretty easily. I went through a battery of heart tests that all turned up normal and I was diagnosed with anxiety, until years later when someone thought to test my nervous system. So yeah, I can relate. But those heart tests even included wearing a monitor that didn't tell them anything useful other than that it was elevated at times... but not that there was a real physiological underlying cause beyond simple anxiety. Not sure they'd put any more interest in a Fitbit's data.
- agumonkey 11y ago
  I don't have your condition but on its worse times my circular system was about to shut down, my 4 limbs were cut to sustain the rest. For months Any activity in one part of my body would cause the rest to feel numb. Even typing with two hands would saturate my brain. The story makes them smile as in "you wouldn't be speaking anymore if you experienced this". If I had a trace of the sudden lack of blood pressure they'd at least have something quantitative to consider rather than borderline incoherent speech. That said most generalist wouldn't consider it anyway as you said.
  - raelshark 11y ago
    That's really interesting - I havent heard of those kinds of problems outside of autonomic issues. You actually got diagnosed with something else related to cardio that causes that? And yeah if it's low blood pressure-related that's hard to show them, since it changes so much and will be different in the doc's office than normal, and because there's no real way to do continuous BP monitoring the way you can with heart rate. Luckily in my case there's a simple test you can do at home or in a doctor's office to see the BP drop quickly.

stevekemp 11y ago

I read this comment-thread recently which documented somebody who noticed their heart-rate had been elevated for some time: https://np.reddit.com/r/fitbit/comments/445ppj/hr_reading_consistently_high_last_few_days/ https://np.reddit.com/r/fitbit/comments/445ppj/hr_reading_co... The reason? She was pregnant.