Among the must-have gadgets, these days is the so-called Smartwatch. These are like ordinary watches in that they go on your wrist and call tell you what time it is. But, they are definitely not like most watches in what else they can do. Among the things your smartwatch can do is monitor your heart. These devices note the beating of your heart and can determine such things as your cardiac rhythm and how fast your ticker is pumping. Sounds great, right?
Is Too Much Information A Bad Thing?
But, is it a good idea to have a smartwatch that is keeping track of your heart all the time? A New York Times article considers this issue. On one side of the debate are stories of people who have avoided heart attacks and strokes when alerted to something amiss in their hearts. Conversely, there are tales of people rushing to hospitals and undergoing tests and procedures they simply did not need.
No Heart Is Always In Rhythm
The essential problem with continuously monitoring your heart is that all of them do odd things now and again. An old saying had it that an active heart is a healthy heart. Most likely, you have no idea when your heart goes out of rhythm now and again. There are probably no symptoms and the issue resolves itself. But, how many of us would have the self-discipline to get a message from your Smartwatch about our heart and not immediately respond? Indeed, immediately panic?
Let Your Heart Tend To Itself
Most likely, if you are healthy and have no known heart issues, constant monitoring of your heart is a bad idea. Of course, you should never ignore worrisome symptoms. But, on balance, you can probably trust your heart to regulate itself. If the rhythm gets a little off now and again, odds are it will snap right back. This is a much better outcome than getting extensive and costly tests and perhaps going on medications with strong side effects.
As always, never make a medical decision based on what you read here. If you have any concerns about the health of your heart, speak to your doctor. But, for now, I think the more prudent course is to let your heart do its thing without you checking in 24 hours per day.
