Apple Watch vs. Fitbit: Which is Best for Heart Monitoring?

The Benefits of Using Smart Watches for Heart Health

In today’s modern era, there are countless ways to better familiarize yourself with the intricacies of your own health. Smartwatches, straps, and other devices of the sort have made fitness tracking and health monitoring something that you can do at home, rather than just at check-ups. At-home health care has never been more advanced, making the options vast and often complicated.

Various smartwatches and wearable devices can monitor heart rate, physical activity, and even atrial fibrillation, making it easier to track certain aspects of your heart health. Properly assessing your resting heart rate and the effects of cardio exercise is an important part of heart-related self-awareness. An abnormal or irregular heart rate can be an indicator of a serious heart problem and catching it early can help prevent a cardiac event in the future. Apple Watch and Fitbit are producing America’s leading smartwatches, so how do you know which one is right for you?

Cardio Benefits of the Apple Watch

The Apple Watch Series is one of the most popular fitness tracker options available, mainly due to its pairing capabilities. It remains integrated within the Apple universe, so it pairs easily with iPhones- the leading choice for tech. Because it can pair with your iPhone, you can leave your phone behind to go on a run or a swim, making cardio easier and more accessible. However, it’s not as compatible with Android or other phone users. Making exercise more obtainable and convenient could potentially motivate you to incorporate it into your daily routine to a higher extent. The watch itself is also water-resistant, making tracking your swimming easy and effective. This type of option is good for someone looking to improve their heart health through cardio.

Cardio is an important part of a heart-healthy routine, so anything that eases the strain and inconvenience of working out is immensely helpful. Properly tracking your exercise levels is key to excelling in your fitness and health endeavors. Regular cardio can lower your blood pressure, expand blood vessels, strengthen heart muscles, and thus decrease your overall stress on the heart.

Heart Rate Monitor Technology

Most major smartwatches offer a heart rate monitoring feature. Heart rate data can be an excellent measure of exercise intensity, and thus help you maximize your workouts for premium benefits. The Fitbit Versa, as well as the previously mentioned Apple Watch, offer heart rate monitoring that can help you actualize your health goals. Having accurate heart rate readings is essential to receiving the full benefits of tracking. Smart Watches use photoplethysmography (or PPG), which projects a green light on the skin. Any light that isn’t absorbed is reflected back onto the sensor, which proceeds to measure the variations to estimate your heart rate.

The Fitbit watch device is reportedly not as responsive to the sensitivities of your heart rate. The Apple watch offers medical-grade readings that have been proven to be more accurate than most of its competitors. This is rumored to be because of the superior fit of the watch’s band and face placement. The watch has even been known to provide life-saving readings, alerting you when you’re having a significant problem with your heart rate. The competing Fitbit equivalent is not held to such a high accuracy standard. If you’re medically concerned about your heart rate, a medical-grade reading is preferable.

Apple Watch or Fitbit?

While more accurate in its readings, the Apple Watch also comes with a significantly higher price tag. So, if you’re a generally healthy person who only wants to casually monitor their health, the Fitbit might be a more suitable, budget-friendly device. For people who need to keep a closer eye on their heart rhythm, the Apple Watch series might be worth the bigger splurge.

Overall, smartwatches are a great way to take personal control of your daily health, especially because they can be paired with other tools such as heart-health-related apps that help you create a more heart-conscious routine. The Apple Watch series is only compatible with iPhone, whereas the Fitbit is compatible with both iPhone and Android, so this is an important detail to keep in mind when making your decision.  There are many other differences between an Apple Watch and Fitbit to be aware of before making the right purchase for you.   

While a smartwatch device can be good for regular heart rate monitoring, no smartwatch can replace a visit to the cardiologist. Please schedule an appointment with your cardiologist to check your heart’s health. 

While they can be good for regular heart rate monitoring, no smart watch can replace a visit to the cardiologist.