Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

During SVT is pulse rate at wrist the same as actual HR

During SVT/AVNRT, does pulse rate (measured at wrist) always equal the heart rate measured by a personal heart rate monitor worn around the chest?  My SVT/AVNRT only occurs during strenuous exercise.  I've been wearing a Polar Heart rate monitor and chest strap; it always shows a large increase in heart rate when I also feel a change in my heart beating and breathing.  I'd like to try using a different type heart rate monitor that doesn't require wearing a chest strap.  It measures heart rate using Mio sensor technology to measure your heart rate directly at your wrist, using an optical sensor which detects and counts blood flow pulses at the wrist.  I'm just curious whether using this type HR monitor, would display similarly high heart rates during my SVT/AVNRT events.
Best Answer
Avatar universal
That is possible.  I have runs of atrial tachycardia where I can feel my heart beating in my chest but not all beats are corresponding to a pulse.  It's called a pulse deficit. I thought I was an anomaly until it happened when I was hooked up to monitors with a doctor right there.  Evidently, it is not all that uncommon.
4 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Well, yesterday, I borrowed a friend's optical sensor HRM and wore it at the same time as my chest strap-type HRM during a run.  I tried to push much  harder than usual to see if I could make anything happen.  I experienced a skipped beat feeling, probably a PVC.  Next, I immediately felt some sort of arrhythmia for about a minute, perhaps a brief run of SVT.  The optical sensor HRM displayed about 15-20 bpm lower (145-150) during that post-PVC period as compared with the chest strap HRM (about 165 bpm).  I know that would be a low HR for SVT.  But, I'm nearly 60 years old and my max HR is probably not as high as many others here.  My EP previously diagnosed, on EKG, my SVT/AVNRT at only 128 bpm.   During yesterday's run and prior to that skipped-heart-beat feeling and the following, higher arrhythmia, the two HRMs had been displaying within 1 bpm of the same HR.  So, it does seem that at least during that one event, my pulse rate was lower than my heart's measured electrical activity.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I mainly was interested in knowing only about pulse rate at wrist corresponding 1:1 to heart rate measured at chest; not whether the technology or sensors in those different type of heart rate monitors have equal accuracy.

I thought that perhaps during SVT/AVNRT there may be extra "electrical-only" activity that occurs, without the ventricle pumping blood.
Helpful - 0
612551 tn?1450022175
COMMUNITY LEADER
Interesting, and new?  I'm an old guy and have had to give up running when I wore a chest strap and wrist display to monitor my HR.  The optical monitor on the wrist should give the same reading as the chest monitor, I believe.  Of course, this all depends on the relative sensitivity of the detectors used in each...suppose that is your question.

I'll try to remember to check back to see the "answer".  
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Heart Rhythm Community

Top Arrhythmias Answerers
1807132 tn?1318743597
Chicago, IL
1423357 tn?1511085442
Central, MA
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Are there grounds to recommend coffee consumption? Recent studies perk interest.
Salt in food can hurt your heart.
Get answers to your top questions about this common — but scary — symptom
How to know when chest pain may be a sign of something else
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.