I love new gadgets as much as the next person, but you have to wonder if the newest and latest technology is worth the price tag. Today I am going to be writing about the newest Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 6, and why it is beneficial for Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) patients.
When the Apple Series 5 Watch came out, I thought that nothing could beat it. The Watch came with new features such as an ECG (electrocardiogram), heart rate continuous monitor, and fall detection. For these reasons, I did not think a new Watch would be useful, since it already had such great features, but I was wrong.
Apple announced that the Series 6 Watch will feature a way to measure your blood oxygen level, that included all the previous features I loved before. The blood oxygen level is a game changing feature for PH patients. If you have PH, or are a caretaker of a PH patient, you know that many PH patients monitor their oxygen saturation levels frequently, typically through a pulse oximeter.
What is Oxygen Saturation?
Oxygen saturation measures the percentage of hemoglobin in your blood that is carrying oxygen This is typically measured through a pulse oximeter on your finger. A normal oxygen saturation reading is anywhere between 95-100%. Typically there is a concern when the O2 saturation falls below 90%. With PH patients, this is how we can see the daily effects of our activities, if our medication is working, or if we are not feeling well enough on our own and may need supplemental oxygen. Measuring O2 saturation is essential for PH patients, but using a pulse oximeter does have some potential downsides. First, if you wear any nail polish or fake nails, the reading can be off. A pulse oximeter typically cannot read through even clear nail polish and the results can be off by several percentage points. Sometimes I would wear nail polish on all but my ring fingers, and call it a fashion statement, but it was really because I needed one finger free for a pulse oximeter. Another downfall can be the closure of the pulse oximeter. However, the biggest issue is, you need to be wearing the pulse oximeter for the reading.. Meaning, you would need to carry a pulse oximeter with you at all times, wear one on your finger while working out, or have it near your bed at night, to get a reading. If it is on your finger and not snug, it can give an inaccurate reading. While most of the time a pulse oximeter is accurate, these little inconveniences may lead to infrequent monitoring of this vital function.
With the importance of measuring oxygen saturation, but the downfalls of the pulse oximeter (especially not being able to wear nail polish and noncontinuous readings), the introduction of blood oxygen level monitoring of the Apple Watch Series 6 was enough for me to give it a try and see if it literally measured up. So after waiting weeks, my Apple Watch Series 6 finally arrived and I am ready to give my honest review of the features for PH patients, and if it is worth the money.
The Apple Watch Series 6 looks exactly like the Series 5, so the features will really be the determining factor if it is worth it.
First, looking at the blood oxygen level monitoring, as this is the newest feature.
Having my oxygen saturation (O2) continuously monitored on my wrist, or with the touch of a button, is a game changer for my O2 stats. Having the Watch randomly and continuously monitoring my O2 stats and reporting them to my iPhone was the best feature.
In the Health app under the Respiratory section, you can see your daily O2 averages over hours, days and weeks and compare against each other. Additionally, in the Respiratory section, there is a place to measure 6 minute walks, which is great for measuring your length and oxygen over time when you are not at a doctor's office.
What I loved most about this feature was when I was not feeling well, I could measure my O2 with just pushing a button and waiting 15 seconds.
The other great feature of having the blood oxygen levels on the wrist, is the low O2 stat warning. If the Watch detects your O2 level under 90%, it will alert you on the Watch. For me having this feature was the most important. We don’t always know when our O2 is dropping, especially at night, so having this alert is helpful.
Other ways the blood oxygen level feature helps PH patients is being able to with ease measure O2 saturations overnight and while working out, which I’ll talk about below.
Measuring O2 While Sleeping
I normally do not wear my Watch at night, but have been giving it a try to see my oxygen levels while sleeping. Before the Watch, I would wear my pulse oximeter on my finger all night… until it would fall off. I would end up taping the pulse oximeter to my finger to avoid this, which meant an uncomfortable night of sleep, which could also alter my results. I also needed to find one that would continuously give readings to my phone, and now can avoid that with the Watch. The Watch is comfortable to wear at night to get the readings, but just make sure it is snug and higher on the wrist to get more accurate readings. Also, knowing that the percentage can be off by 1-2% is also helpful, as it's not as accurate as having on the finger. However, this is usually close enough to be very useful. Many PH patients have oxygen levels that drop at night and do not know this. Now it can be easily followed on the Health App (like below) and the results shared with your doctor with a simple snapshot.
Working out and O2 Measuring
Us PH patients (our caregivers) have gone through our fair share of 6 minute walk tests. We have seen what pushing ourselves to even do a 6 minute walk can do to our oxygen saturation levels. But, during those times we are monitored by health care professionals, and hooked up to machines. If you are cleared to work out, O2 saturation while doing so is important to measure. To make sure you are not pushing yourself beyond what your body can take. Wearing a pulse oximeter while working out can interfere with your safety while working out or be uncomfortable to wear. Here, you can push a button on the Watch and get your results within seconds, while freeing up your fingers. The only downside is you need to have a flat surface or hold your arm steady in a flat position to get a better reading, or you get the following error:
Overall, this feature alone is worth the price of the new Watch, for its ease and convenience over a pulse oximeter for blood oxygen saturation levels. It was accurate within 1-2% compared to my pulse oximeter reading (without nail. polish) The only downside is, the readings are random. They are not done hourly. You need to wear your Watch higher on your wrist for better results.In addition, for the push button results, it needs a flat or consistent surface for best and fast results. Overall, it is the best new feature, and helpful for a peace of mind.
There are other features on the Apple Watch that are helpful for PH Patients, some of which include the heart rate monitor, ECG, medical ID, and Fall Detection.
Heart Rate Monitor
This has been a staple in the Apple Watches for the past few series. The feature allows the Watch to continuously and randomly monitor your heart rate.
It will give you hourly, daily, weekly and monthly reports of your average heart rate and average walking heart rate on the Health App on your phone.
The heart rate monitor also detects low and high heart rates, which can be customized, since as a PH patient my heart rate will be higher than most, even when relaxing (as you can see from my higher heart rate while walking around above). It will give an alert to the Watch when your heart rate is going over a certain number. This can be extremely helpful.
The heart rate monitor can also detect when you are starting to work out, which is helpful when you forget to monitor it, and will give you a read out after you complete your workout and can see your average heart rate during the workout. The downfall of this feature for those with PH? Many times the Watch thinks I am working out, when in fact I am walking or walking up hills since my heart rate can jump pretty high while doing these activities.
ECG
Starting with the Series 5, Apple Watch introduced the ECG monitor on the Watch. When you press the app, you hold the crown for 30 seconds to get the results.
An ECG is an electrocardiography, which is a test that can check your heart’s rhythm and electrical activities. The ECG will tell you if you have normal intervals or abnormal readings, meaning there is a variation of the heart’s rhythm, which can be ‘normal’ or be dangerous like AFib or signs of medical emergency. Usually ECGs are expensive and needed as a separate device, but this feature lets you have it right on the wrist and periodically in the Health App to show your rhythms collected throughout the day and previous measurements. Although it does not give all the detailed information a real ECG does, it can be quite helpful.
Medical ID
While I wear a medical bracelet, having my medical information, with my emergency contacts and medication right on my wrist makes me feel safer in case of an emergency.
I even have my Backpack Health link code in my Medical ID as a backup if something happened to my medical bracelet or I was not wearing it that day.
Having an updated and accurate medical ID on the phone, then Watch as it is paired, is extremely important, as the medical ID feature is integrated into the Watch itself and many features, as you’ll see below. For why Medical Bracelets and Medical IDs, with Backpack Health, are extremely important to have, check out this post I did here.
Fall Detection
This is what I consider the best feature of the Apple Watch. It was introduced in the series 4, and by far the best feature for any PH patient so you can go through life with a peace of mind.
The feature detects when you have a “hard fall”, anything that is more than just a stumble or a trip. When the Watch detects this event, it sounds an alarm, taps you for 1 minute, while displaying an alert with choices - to contact emergency services or dismiss the alert.
If the Watch also detects your moving to stand up, it will wait for you to respond to the alert. However, if you have been immobile for over a minute and have not done anything about the alarms, it will automatically call 911. After the call ends, your Watch will automatically send a message to all your emergency contacts (that you set up in your Medical ID feature in the Health App) letting them know you fell and that your Watch has called 911. It will display your medical ID information on the Watch for emergency services to see when they get to you.
This feature alone will make you want to get an Apple Watch series 4 or higher. As a PH patient, my biggest fear is fainting and not having any one around for help. Knowing that my Watch can detect this, and help me if I am immobile makes me feel more comfortable to go to a work out class, take a walk by myself, or even live alone.
Cellular vs. GPS Watches - Which is Better for PH Patients?
If you decide that the Apple Watch is for you, there is one more big decision to make - which plan will you get? The Apple Watches in general come in two different plans - GPS or Cellular. Breaking it down into simple terms, the GPS Watch has to be in range of your cellphone and with Bluetooth on for many of the features to work. With the Cellular Watch plan, you set up with your cellphone company to add your Watch to your cell phone plan, so that you have freedom from your phone. You can be anywhere with cellular service for the Watch to work on its own, and your phone does not need to be anywhere near you or have Bluetooth on.
While there is a price difference between the two, I decided on the cellular Watch over the GPS version for 2 reasons:
As stated above the fall detection feature is one of the best features on the Watch for PH patients. However, without your phone nearby, on, and connected to Bluetooth, if you fell and did not have these things available, your Watch could not call 911. For me, paying an additional $10 per month on my cellphone plan through Verizon line, makes me feel safer to be out on my own. I have been in a situation where I fainted and was by myself and did not get help until someone found me. Having the ability of the cellular plan to call 911 when I am not able to is worth the peace of mind.
Overall ease of not having a phone. I know, in this day and age when do we not have our phones on us? So realistically, you do not need to worry about having the connect-ability to the phone. However, having the option to leave your phone at home and have all the features available to you on your wrist (phone calls, text messages, fall detection, medical ID, Apple Pay, etc) is an added bonus.
The Apple Watch Series 6 comes at a steep price, so it is important to make sure that it is right for you. After having this for a month, I can safely say it is worth the price for the above mentioned features. Above all else, I feel safer and more confident in my everyday life having an Apple Watch on my wrist as a PH patient. For me, this comfort justifies the price tag.
If you have any questions about getting an Apple Watch, or need help figuring out the features as a PH Patient make sure to contact me via the contact form on the home page, at contact@travelingwithoutboundaries.com or on instagram @travelingwithoutboundaries.
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