The research we're taking a look at.
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Those popular fitness trackers you wear in your wrist track your heart rate with a sensor that measures changes in blood flow to your skin. But how accurate are they?
To discover, researchers tested 4 popular business wrist-worn monitors on 50 young, healthy adults. Participants were connected to an ECG machine, which records the center's electrical activity and provides the “gold standard” measurement of heart rate. They were also randomly assigned to wear two different wrist monitors while they walked or ran on a treadmill at speeds of two to six mph. Resting heart rate readouts were recorded during each pace, and after the treadmill test.
Two devices, the Apple Watch and MyFuse, were accurate about 91 percent of the time. The other two, Fitbit Charge HR and Basis Peak, were accurate 84% and 83% of the time, respectively, the researchers found. If your doctor advises you to remain in a certain heart rate zone, they recommend using a chest strap monitor, which uses a more accurate electronic sensor. Their results were published online on October 12, 2016. JAMA Cardiology.
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