Thanks for watching. The full ECG Explained Clearly video series by Dr. Seheult is available here: www.medcram.com/courses/ekg-ecg-interpretation-explained-clearly
In October 2020 my Apple Watch Series 5 tapped me on the wrist and indicated it detected AFib. I hadn’t been diagnosed with AFib. I took an ECG and went over to my doctor’s urgent care. The nurse checked me in and asked to see the Apple ECG report. She said she could see the AFib. I saw the doctor and they confirmed AFib. I was referred to a cardiologist and put on Warfrin. A few months later I developed a flutter which made me feel exhausted while exercising. I saw an electro cardiologist and he did an ablation. I am now able to exercise regularly and my heart seems to be functioning correctly. The Apple Watch tipped me off to a heart problem. I am hoping for future technology advancements to help me live a more healthy life. I am 64 years old.
Eight weeks ago I completed a stenuous workout on my traithlon bike prior to the Ironman race in St. George. My Apple watch alerted me with an alarm that my heart rate jumped to 122 but the haptics noted I was sitting, I activated the ECG function and discovered I was in A fib. Five days ago I underwent an apparently successful cardiac ablation which may allow me to come off blood thinners eventually. I may have discovered this on my own but perhaps not and I would be a stroke victim like so many other folks with undedected A fib. Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention.
WOW !!! The best explanation of heart function and ECG interpretation I've ever seen. Kept simple. Thank you, as a emergency medical responder in my younger days, I've always loved this sort of instruction.
My husband got me an Apple Watch because my heart was jumping frequently and we wanted to see if we could “catch” something on the watch. Dec 2019, my heart felt as if it was skipping beats and going to beat out of my chest. I started the ECG feature on my Apple Watch. The reading said I was AFIB and my heart rate kept climbing. I went to the ER and showed them the reading. The ER confirmed I was in AFIB with my heart rate increasing. I was cardioverted and eventually had a follow up with Cardiology. I also catch PVCs on my watch. It’s amazing that smart watches have these features.
I am a retired nurse of 45 years. I could never get my head round ECGs but you have made it much more understandable. I have heart problems so I will take a look at these watches and hopefully be able to afford one. Thank you
I'm almost 44, and I bought the Samsung watch 3 weeks ago. I highly recommend. I can see my Heart Rate and ECG. I've had shortness of breath and etc. I see a cardiologist now as of January. I had an Echo and stress test. I pass the stress tests, echos and etc. Some regurgitation in my echo that I'm told a lot of people have. But the watch does give me a lot of peace of mind. I do have a diagnosis of severe anxiety.
These watches are amazing. My Samsung watch actually alerted me to poor blood oxygen at night. I then bought an air quality reader, and I was breathing in some pretty nasty stuff. I then purchased several air purifiers, and my air quality improved, and so has my sleep readings on my Samsung watch showing me getting better oxygen and rem sleep.
Thank you so much for this video. I have AFib and I have several episodes every day. I've had it for 10 years and suffered a stroke as well as limited ability to perform daily activities. It happens suddenly and often times for no apparent reason. I learned more about the hearts natural and AFib rhythms from this short video than I have from my own doctors or online research in the 10 years I have suffered with AFib/ arrhythmias and tachycardia. Now I feel I can understand my ecg/akg readings when I look at them. You are an excellent teacher. You deserve an award. Thank u again ❤
Thank you for a clear explanation of exactly what the Apple watch captures and what the first lead shows. I've been watching a number of videos (mostly yours) to try to understand what is happening in my AF. Last week I had a cardiac ablation and have been out of AF since the procedure. What a difference! After four months of persistent AF it was as if I had aged 30 years overnight (I am 63). My brain was like that of an old person, and I became weak and out of breath easily. My tech-savvy son gave me his watch and it confirmed when I felt I was in afib. It provided other useful information, and also encouraged me to remain active and to "breathe." These lectures are the BEST teaching I've ever experienced. You take such complicated processes and break them down so that even an English major can get the gist of what happens.
Hang in there… it takes a couple of months for the scars to form.. I’ve had 4 cardiac ablations and a dual chamber pacemaker and the pulmonary vein isolation ablation was by far the most complicated and the only one I was out for 3-4 hours. Other ablations I had improvements right away but this one takes a long time and patience.. I had severe episodes of a fib for several months and was given amiodarone to try to stop it. Some people need 2 of the procedures especially if persistent a fib but it’s usually very successful. A fib is NO fun and I’ve had every single arrhythmia and it was the worst of them all. I hope you continue to feel better and better!
The most lucid and detailed explanation of heart function I have found! I have afib and had an ablation to restore the sinus rhythm. Dr. Seheult's diagrammatic approach clearly delineates the electrical pathways and possible dysfunctions much more explicitly than any of the cardiologists or electrophysiologists that treated me. A really valuable video (and I personally appreciate the straightforward tutorial without lots of aren't-I-cute lame doctor jokes and irrelevant graphic cuts that permeate other videos I have watched). I will save and review.
Thank you Dr. Seheult this was a great explanation! I wondered how that all worked. I work with electronics and I use an oscilloscope to diagnose circuits, I know what signals to expect, how to hunt them down, and what I need to do to fix them... However, today... you did a wonderful thing for me: You connected the dots for me how to relate the heart's electrical activity to essentially a trace on an oscilloscope... if, as you say, it is open to non-medical people (that's me)... I thought I had to be a Doctor or Nurse in the medical field to take courses... Wow! That opens a door for me! I'm curious and want to learn, I'll check into that course and depending what I've got going on... I might even take it!
@@rogerseheult1312 Yes it truly was an "A HA!! moment" With a heart-felt, pun intended, Thank you so very very much... Agreed: Education is the key to understanding our health, and it is through teachers like you, with excellent communications skills, that make it possible! I look forward to learning more from your channel. Cheers and wishing you happy holidays Dr. Seheult (BTW: any more music videos possible?)
My Apple Watch also helped me figure out I had a Pulmonary embolism. It alerted me of an high resting heart rate. I thought it was due to taking a higher then normal insulin dose due to a high carb meal. but when I got working I nearly passed out. And it alarmed again and I must have touched some thing this time I knew something wasn't right. so I didn't hav any chest pains so I had my wife take me to the ER and after an Xray and a CT I was told I had Two very large Pulmonary embolisms one in each lung and my doctor told me if I didn't listen to the watch I would have passed away in my sleep that night.
I have had and been treated for both Afib and a fast running heart. Have had ablation done 4 times with the final result being unable to reach the issue on the left side. currently on medication which has been for the most part successful. I just wanted to pass on that this video has been the best explained i have ever seen. I wish i had seen this in the beginning to completely understand how it all works. Thank you so much for sharing this !
Thank you for your great video! Fitbit Charge 5 now has this feature (the firmware was released). I just checked my ECG and everything is normal. Now I know what I am looking at, and why it is important.
What a beautiful explanation of a somewhat complex phenomenon. It will definitely help me make sense of some of the applications of signal analysis in my Electrical Engineering classes.
Thank you for this, I've had many ECGs in my day, thanks to my weird heart and poor hydration skills. when i get dehydrated (went to ERs before I figured out on my own the common factor but I digress) they once called it pre-ventricular fib, where my hear beat would be super short between P and R but all my R's were in perfect time. turns out when I don't drink enough water my heart has a tendency to short out that delay circuit and I can feel it when it's happening which then triggers a panic attack and sets off that spiral I'm sure I don't need to explain here, I never really understood what I was looking at when I saw the charts other than how synchronous those R waves were. Thank you for the detailed explanation. I hope it is many years before I look at another one but at least now I will understand more of what I am looking at.
Thanks so much for your explanation of ECG’s, that was great! I was really glad I have my Apple Watch….I have had odd feelings of a increased heart rate for YEARS, but all my ECG’s were fine, even had a nuclear stress test (prior to a surgery I needed). The watch managed to catch my HR in the 200’s when I was working. I work in a hospital, so when it wouldn’t go back to a normal rate, I went to the ER to get it checked. Here I had SVT, had it for years, probably, but I’d always go back to a normal HR. It wasn’t going back this time, and needed meds to go back to a normal HR. Thanks to the watch, I was able to finally get treatment *got an ablation*😊
I bought a model 4 Apple Watch 4 years ago. I found several skipped beats. Heart rates as low as 32 bpm. It was diagnosed as PCVs and had two ablation procedures about 18 months apart. That second ablation fixed my issue and life is much better since then.
Thank you! I needed this to understand my heart better! I remember learning the structure and function of the heart in high school Biology class, loved it, but didn't remember any of it until this excellent illustrative video. I have developed A-Fib and I didn't know how to relate the function of my heart to the EKG printout. I underwent Cardioversion 4 hours into A-Fib, it worked perfectly, and like you said, my cardiologist had a serious discussion with me about using blood thinners or not. We chose not to as it was only 4 hours and I have no other health issues. I ate quite a lot of raw garlic for the following week as my own blood thinner. Dr. couldn't say that was good or bad, but probably wouldn't hurt. I may or may not get one of these watches as my heart thumps and bumps weirdly many times a day, fribulates for a couple of second at a time pretty much daily, and has since I was about 17. I can really feel it. Its very obvious. Thank you - I love knowing exactly what's going on with my dear heart. Love your videos!! ❤
I am just glad Samsung finally added both fall detection due to heart failure as well as a heart stopage alert for you like Apple has had for a while now. I sleep with mine on, not dead yet.
I am glad that standard practices are regularly reviewed. In 2004 I landed in hospital with double Pneumonia. They started an IV and flushed the port with Heparin before hooking up a bag. Turns out that I was allergic to Heparin. It caused HIT which is known but rather rare. I was pleased to learn that flushing new IVs with a blast of Heparin has been replaced by flushing new IV ports with saline solution instead!
Thanks You Roger for another great video! :) and as always so well-explained that even a novice like me can understand these complex systems! I had Afib for almost 20 years, but finally (2015) got an dual ablation done, both cryo and electrical burn, which helped me alot! not 100% but much better! Anyway, you helped me to finally understand what A-fib is. Thank You!
Excellent video but it spurs several questions; a) what causes the sinus irregularity and can it be resolved without medical intervention, ie, thru diet, exercise, electrolyte adjustments, etc. b) how long must afib last and how severe must it be to warrant concern and intervention
I loved this video doctor. the explanations were detailed and thorough. I gave me some thought on how to manage my own heart abberations...if and when they may appear ...and if i have a smart watch that detects them I could seek medical advice immediately when any anomaly is reported. I know the smart watch feature is a crude hit-or-miss tool at best, but at least I have that available.... Thank you doctor.
Hey Doc, this presentation was uniformly superb. You have so much to be proud of. A clear, concise, explanation of Atrial Fibrillation supported by an easy to comprehend diagrammatic heart pathway sketch.In addition, you have a clear , D.J. type voice, of smooth enunciation. You are a gifted communicator besides being an M.D. with an amazing skillset. May I ask what state you are in & do you have a practice? Always be safe & thanks,phil🇺🇲🍀💙🙏👍
This may pick up speed and become very useful post Covid vaccine and/or infection, seeing that so many people are suffering from heart issues as a consequence.
Thank you for detailed and organized explanation. I have learned so much from this. Despite not being from the medical background, I look forward to checking out more videos from your channel. Please keep up the amazing work.
What an awesome video. I came to get a basic understanding of how to read ecg results from my watch and left with a better understanding of how the heart works. What a miracle machine.
That is most useful. I now understand the issue a lot more than before. What makes it slightly confusing for me is that I have an irregular heartbeat - or as my practice nurse described it "a regular irregular heartbeat". I can now see how to view this WITH the other parts of the wave. Thank you.
The video is excellent. I can also thank the smart watch that I am better now. Due to the recordings on the smart watch, they noticed the sick sinus disease in me. I currently wear a pacemaker and am much better. Greetings from Hungary! 🥰
Without a doubt one of the best explanations of normal cardiac rhythm and A Fib that I have ever seen! Thanks Doc for all of your excellent videos. Hope that you & your family are doing well and staying safe! BTW, I got my Moderna COVID booster vaccine yesterday. Hope that everyone does the same! 👍😉
I had afib at work tested it on my apple watch and it kept saying afib 5 times. I told my boss i need to go to the ER. When i got there it had been long enough that i needed to be shocked back into rhythm. I had that done over a year ago and have had normal sinus rhythm since. It also tracks high heart rate. Apple watch life saver.
I have a hiatus hernia that makes me swallow a lot of air and sometimes not much space on my chest is left. However my Apple Watch is a blessing because before I had it I was always afraid about my heart. I found out my rythm is irregular but not in a unhealthy way.
Thank you doctor for your wonderful information. Many stories we have heard that those who wears this watch saved their lives. Non medical professionals like us also can easily understood. Great!!!
My Apple Watch saved my life. It alerted me that my heartrate was 35 beats per minute . I was in danger of “sudden death”according to my electro physiologist. I had a pacemaker procedure and I feel fine.
I was diagnosed with Afib in January. I have no idea how long I had it. I have had tachycardia arrhythmias for years and has been on atenolol. I had been having flutters for awhile. So I am in Afib 24/7 now according to my diagnoses and my Apple watch and how I feel. Which sucks…..I am on a blood thinner and another pill besides the atenolol. Am having a cardio version the end of April. My echo on my heart in January said my heart looked good. This info is so interesting and thank you for putting it out there….
Over the top/ excellent presentation & description ! The drawings, accompanied by the articulate reader , at an easy to understand pace is awesome ! Thank you for "filling in" my too many voids of what the process was all about !!!
This is not a commentary on Dr. Seheult's video here, but on the trend towards fitbits, applewatches, rings, and other bio-monitoring tools. While I appreciate the effort to give people some control over their health, the reality is that devices that harvest data will never replace a working health-care system in the US, where you can go to your doctor with questions, instead of buying a toy and then frantically searching the internet for answers. These are stopgap measures for a problem too big to fix with toys.
Thank you for all your amazing videos and explanations, Dr. Seheult! Could you also please make a video on wearable (cuff-less) blood pressure monitoring technology and how accurate it is?
Thanks ! I now understand more about the ECG on my Apple Watch… I’m planning to upgrade to the latest watch since mine was able to detect Atrial Fibrillation a few times recently. I’ve seen a cardiologist and was put on a holter monitor and the results were okay but atrial fibrillation probably appears when I’m super fatigued
The watches are interesting, but they have one drawback: you have to be immobile when you take an ECG, and in some of them at least "immobile" means sitting down with your watch arm on a table, keeping your head still and not talking. Moving your head or talking can put alarming spikes into the curve; and the fact that you have to sit down means that A-fib happening when you're out somewhere, maybe in weather that makes sitting impractical, won't reliably be measured. And even then, the only time I ever had A-fib-like symptoms (which I virtually never have) and managed to sit down and record it, my cardiologist (who loves these gadgets) looked at the trace for all of five seconds then said "too noisy" and went on to something else. Me, I would have liked one I could use while cycling. They do have a couple of advantages, though: wearing one gets me out of being hooked to a Holter for 24 hours every 6 months and, more importantly, most of them can take a specific blood oxygen measurement, something that is a further useful tool in diagnosing cardio-pulmonary maladies. They can also help diagnose branch blocks (not covered here). BTW, you don't need to fork out $$$ for them: a chum bought a Chinese one for 36€ that does everything my 300€ one does. Mine looks nicer, though.
Interesting video... and timing. I have atrial fibrillation since i had covid in april. I have been checked out, and diagnosed. Sometimes daily, sometimes just every 6-10 days fibrillating. I am waiting for a catheter ablation ever since, no date yet (hungarian healthcare at its finest). But they also didnt put me on anticoagulants. They say i am 40, and have no other risks. Of course i am starting to doubth all these, after all the time passed without intervention... I wonder if i should push for anti coagulants? Or just keep pushing for an ablation date....
Very cool! It's nice to understand what the data means. When I had a lot of work stress, I was getting sharp pain in my chest so I checked the ECG on my apple watch. It showed that the pain in my chest happened during an off-rhythm spike, which I'm now guessing is the QRS area.
I was thinking which smart watch to buy because of my breathless problem, i was always checked in the hospital but they said my heart is fine. Thank you for this video, i will now buy that smart watch.
What are some conditions that require the other 11 ECG leads for diagnosis? Basically, I would like to know which conditions cannot be diagnosed by a smartwatch ECG and would require a conventional 12 lead ECG ... Would be great if someone could explain or point me to some resources!
To prospective buyers of these watches, note that not all medical detection features are available in all market areas. Here in Canada, the Samsung ECG function is not certified by Health Canada, and so the watches sold in Canada cannot read your pulse except for counting, or for pulse 'rate'. However, you can guess that you may have an arrhythmia if you induce a pulse check and find that your watch is telling you to 'clean your sensor'. It's somewhat unlikely that your sensor IS dirty, but if you are quite certain it is clean, and your watch feeds back to you that it cannot read your pulse, try your cuff blood pressure reader soonest and you'll probably find that your rate rate reads above 90, possibly as high as 140, even for elderly people (not good, so get help).
You have made it very simple to understand the ecg... thank you soo much...I watched many videos tried to get understanding about p wave and qrs... But Was never able to get it....
This really x helped me understand not only my AFib but QT prolongation. I love being able to look at my Apple Watch ECG report and know what it’s showing.
Thank you for this very clear explanation of heart function and ECG EKG. I had an annual physical recently and my P wave and QRS wave look good, it looks like my T wave is inverted and I am just hoping the nurse did not have the sensor correct on my body. The Dr circled the T wave and compared it to my EKG from six years ago and said nothing had changed, but she wants me to take a stress test and see the cardiologist. Any idea on T wave shape and what that might indicate?
These smart watches are a boon because they alert the user if his/her heart rate is abnormal or irregular!!! These devices help diagnose the problem right when it happens, the correct medical diagnosis & treatment at the right time can save lives!!! In the future we'll have more smart devices that alert you, send your ECG report to your doctor through the internet, saving your life & as well as time!!!
Hi, Thanks for posting. I am currently looking at an Apple watch with ECG. As a 75 YO, this content was enlightening. Question 1)while explaining the different charts, you seemed to imply that chart 1 HAD TO BE with the watch on the left wrist and activation by the right hand. Can one wear the watch on the right wrist? Can the watch be set/lay flat on the chest, Thanks JJ
Very interesting. How often and how long do atrial fibrillation go on for to have consequent of strokes? . People says it is normal to have it every now and then. Thank you Dr Seheult
now i understand, that it makes sense to buy such a smart-watch. this video shows it can help to save lives or at least make life easier. thnx for that perfect explanation.
Thanks for watching. The full ECG Explained Clearly video series by Dr. Seheult is available here: www.medcram.com/courses/ekg-ecg-interpretation-explained-clearly
In October 2020 my Apple Watch Series 5 tapped me on the wrist and indicated it detected AFib. I hadn’t been diagnosed with AFib. I took an ECG and went over to my doctor’s urgent care. The nurse checked me in and asked to see the Apple ECG report. She said she could see the AFib. I saw the doctor and they confirmed AFib. I was referred to a cardiologist and put on Warfrin. A few months later I developed a flutter which made me feel exhausted while exercising. I saw an electro cardiologist and he did an ablation. I am now able to exercise regularly and my heart seems to be functioning correctly. The Apple Watch tipped me off to a heart problem. I am hoping for future technology advancements to help me live a more healthy life. I am 64 years old.
Eight weeks ago I completed a stenuous workout on my traithlon bike prior to the Ironman race in St. George. My Apple watch alerted me with an alarm that my heart rate jumped to 122 but the haptics noted I was sitting, I activated the ECG function and discovered I was in A fib. Five days ago I underwent an apparently successful cardiac ablation which may allow me to come off blood thinners eventually. I may have discovered this on my own but perhaps not and I would be a stroke victim like so many other folks with undedected A fib. Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention.
WOW !!! The best explanation of heart function and ECG interpretation I've ever seen. Kept simple. Thank you, as a emergency medical responder in my younger days, I've always loved this sort of instruction.
My husband got me an Apple Watch because my heart was jumping frequently and we wanted to see if we could “catch” something on the watch.
Dec 2019, my heart felt as if it was skipping beats and going to beat out of my chest. I started the ECG feature on my Apple Watch. The reading said I was AFIB and my heart rate kept climbing. I went to the ER and showed them the reading. The ER confirmed I was in AFIB with my heart rate increasing. I was cardioverted and eventually had a follow up with Cardiology. I also catch PVCs on my watch.
It’s amazing that smart watches have these features.
I am a retired nurse of 45 years. I could never get my head round ECGs but you have made it much more understandable. I have heart problems so I will take a look at these watches and hopefully be able to afford one. Thank you
I'm almost 44, and I bought the Samsung watch 3 weeks ago. I highly recommend. I can see my Heart Rate and ECG. I've had shortness of breath and etc. I see a cardiologist now as of January. I had an Echo and stress test. I pass the stress tests, echos and etc. Some regurgitation in my echo that I'm told a lot of people have. But the watch does give me a lot of peace of mind. I do have a diagnosis of severe anxiety.
These watches are amazing. My Samsung watch actually alerted me to poor blood oxygen at night. I then bought an air quality reader, and I was breathing in some pretty nasty stuff. I then purchased several air purifiers, and my air quality improved, and so has my sleep readings on my Samsung watch showing me getting better oxygen and rem sleep.
Liked how you stopped at 6:00 and had to explain our body's natural pacemaker. Most target audience would be confused. Good on yah.
Every med student should see this, it simply makes sense and is easy to recall.
Dr. John Campbell + Medcram are the best 👍
The best explanation of AFIB I've seen. Wonderfully clear. Thank you, Dr. Seheult!
Thank you so much for this video. I have AFib and I have several episodes every day. I've had it for 10 years and suffered a stroke as well as limited ability to perform daily activities. It happens suddenly and often times for no apparent reason. I learned more about the hearts natural and AFib rhythms from this short video than I have from my own doctors or online research in the 10 years I have suffered with AFib/ arrhythmias and tachycardia. Now I feel I can understand my ecg/akg readings when I look at them. You are an excellent teacher. You deserve an award. Thank u again ❤
Thank you for a clear explanation of exactly what the Apple watch captures and what the first lead shows. I've been watching a number of videos (mostly yours) to try to understand what is happening in my AF. Last week I had a cardiac ablation and have been out of AF since the procedure. What a difference! After four months of persistent AF it was as if I had aged 30 years overnight (I am 63). My brain was like that of an old person, and I became weak and out of breath easily. My tech-savvy son gave me his watch and it confirmed when I felt I was in afib. It provided other useful information, and also encouraged me to remain active and to "breathe." These lectures are the BEST teaching I've ever experienced. You take such complicated processes and break them down so that even an English major can get the gist of what happens.
Hang in there… it takes a couple of months for the scars to form.. I’ve had 4 cardiac ablations and a dual chamber pacemaker and the pulmonary vein isolation ablation was by far the most complicated and the only one I was out for 3-4 hours. Other ablations I had improvements right away but this one takes a long time and patience.. I had severe episodes of a fib for several months and was given amiodarone to try to stop it. Some people need 2 of the procedures especially if persistent a fib but it’s usually very successful. A fib is NO fun and I’ve had every single arrhythmia and it was the worst of them all. I hope you continue to feel better and better!
This is SO WELL explained for us normal people that don’t understand the medial complex of the human heart. Thank you for taking the time to do this.
The most lucid and detailed explanation of heart function I have found! I have afib and had an ablation to restore the sinus rhythm. Dr. Seheult's diagrammatic approach clearly delineates the electrical pathways and possible dysfunctions much more explicitly than any of the cardiologists or electrophysiologists that treated me. A really valuable video (and I personally appreciate the straightforward tutorial without lots of aren't-I-cute lame doctor jokes and irrelevant graphic cuts that permeate other videos I have watched). I will save and review.
My pastor got several notices of afib from his Apple Watch. ER doc said it saved his life.
My goodness. Where have you been all my unhealthy life?! Glad I finally found you.
Thank you Dr. Seheult this was a great explanation! I wondered how that all worked. I work with electronics and I use an oscilloscope to diagnose circuits, I know what signals to expect, how to hunt them down, and what I need to do to fix them... However, today... you did a wonderful thing for me: You connected the dots for me how to relate the heart's electrical activity to essentially a trace on an oscilloscope... if, as you say, it is open to non-medical people (that's me)... I thought I had to be a Doctor or Nurse in the medical field to take courses... Wow! That opens a door for me! I'm curious and want to learn, I'll check into that course and depending what I've got going on... I might even take it!
Knowledge is power. If there's one thing that we should be knowledgeable about it is our own health! I am glad this was an A HA moment for you!
@@rogerseheult1312 Yes it truly was an "A HA!! moment" With a heart-felt, pun intended, Thank you so very very much... Agreed: Education is the key to understanding our health, and it is through teachers like you, with excellent communications skills, that make it possible! I look forward to learning more from your channel. Cheers and wishing you happy holidays Dr. Seheult (BTW: any more music videos possible?)
My Apple Watch also helped me figure out I had a Pulmonary embolism.
It alerted me of an high resting heart rate. I thought it was due to taking a higher then normal insulin dose due to a high carb meal. but when I got working I nearly passed out.
And it alarmed again and I must have touched some thing this time I knew something wasn't right.
so I didn't hav any chest pains so I had my wife take me to the ER and after an Xray and a CT I was told I had Two very large Pulmonary embolisms one in each lung and my doctor told me if I didn't listen to the watch I would have passed away in my sleep that night.
That’s amazing. Thank you for sharing.
As one with heart disease this information is so helpful. Thank you for removing the mystery from the ecg results of my Apple Watch!
I have had and been treated for both Afib and a fast running heart. Have had ablation done 4 times with the final result being unable to reach the issue on the left side. currently on medication which has been for the most part successful. I just wanted to pass on that this video has been the best explained i have ever seen. I wish i had seen this in the beginning to completely understand how it all works. Thank you so much for sharing this !
Thank you for your great video! Fitbit Charge 5 now has this feature (the firmware was released). I just checked my ECG and everything is normal. Now I know what I am looking at, and why it is important.
Very clear, precise , accurate , simple explanation how to interpret ECG waves particularly the first stage, big help and informative.
What a beautiful explanation of a somewhat complex phenomenon. It will definitely help me make sense of some of the applications of signal analysis in my Electrical Engineering classes.
Thank you for this, I've had many ECGs in my day, thanks to my weird heart and poor hydration skills. when i get dehydrated (went to ERs before I figured out on my own the common factor but I digress) they once called it pre-ventricular fib, where my hear beat would be super short between P and R but all my R's were in perfect time. turns out when I don't drink enough water my heart has a tendency to short out that delay circuit and I can feel it when it's happening which then triggers a panic attack and sets off that spiral I'm sure I don't need to explain here, I never really understood what I was looking at when I saw the charts other than how synchronous those R waves were. Thank you for the detailed explanation. I hope it is many years before I look at another one but at least now I will understand more of what I am looking at.
Thanks so much for your explanation of ECG’s, that was great!
I was really glad I have my Apple Watch….I have had odd feelings of a increased heart rate for YEARS, but all my ECG’s were fine, even had a nuclear stress test (prior to a surgery I needed).
The watch managed to catch my HR in the 200’s when I was working. I work in a hospital, so when it wouldn’t go back to a normal rate, I went to the ER to get it checked. Here I had SVT,
had it for years, probably, but I’d always go back to a normal HR. It wasn’t going back this time, and needed meds to go back to a normal HR.
Thanks to the watch, I was able to finally get treatment *got an ablation*😊
Thank you Dr Seheult. It's always good to have a bit of a change of pace from the COVID videos and all the comments associated with them.
I bought a model 4 Apple Watch 4 years ago. I found several skipped beats. Heart rates as low as 32 bpm. It was diagnosed as PCVs and had two ablation procedures about 18 months apart. That second ablation fixed my issue and life is much better since then.
To Dr. Schuelt, I sincerely appreciate all you do in service to your fellow human.
Thank you! I needed this to understand my heart better! I remember learning the structure and function of the heart in high school Biology class, loved it, but didn't remember any of it until this excellent illustrative video. I have developed A-Fib and I didn't know how to relate the function of my heart to the EKG printout. I underwent Cardioversion 4 hours into A-Fib, it worked perfectly, and like you said, my cardiologist had a serious discussion with me about using blood thinners or not. We chose not to as it was only 4 hours and I have no other health issues. I ate quite a lot of raw garlic for the following week as my own blood thinner. Dr. couldn't say that was good or bad, but probably wouldn't hurt. I may or may not get one of these watches as my heart thumps and bumps weirdly many times a day, fribulates for a couple of second at a time pretty much daily, and has since I was about 17. I can really feel it. Its very obvious. Thank you - I love knowing exactly what's going on with my dear heart. Love your videos!! ❤
I am just glad Samsung finally added both fall detection due to heart failure as well as a heart stopage alert for you like Apple has had for a while now. I sleep with mine on, not dead yet.
I am glad that standard practices are regularly reviewed. In 2004 I landed in hospital with double Pneumonia. They started an IV and flushed the port with Heparin before hooking up a bag. Turns out that I was allergic to Heparin. It caused HIT which is known but rather rare.
I was pleased to learn that flushing new IVs with a blast of Heparin has been replaced by flushing new IV ports with saline solution instead!
Thanks You Roger for another great video! :) and as always so well-explained that even a novice like me can understand these complex systems! I had Afib for almost 20 years, but finally (2015) got an dual ablation done, both cryo and electrical burn, which helped me alot! not 100% but much better!
Anyway, you helped me to finally understand what A-fib is. Thank You!
This is absolutely the best explanation of heart activity I have ever seen; in just a few minutes I "get it". Thank you!!!
Best explanation ever !
The best (non-pro) explanation I've seen on this subject. Thank you! 🙏
Excellent video but it spurs several questions; a) what causes the sinus irregularity and can it be resolved without medical intervention, ie, thru diet, exercise, electrolyte adjustments, etc. b) how long must afib last and how severe must it be to warrant concern and intervention
Probably the best explanation of heart function I have ever seen (and I've seen plenty). Thanks so much.
I loved this video doctor. the explanations were detailed and thorough. I gave me some thought on how to manage my own heart abberations...if and when they may appear ...and if i have a smart watch that detects them I could seek medical advice immediately when any anomaly is reported.
I know the smart watch feature is a crude hit-or-miss tool at best, but at least I have that available....
Thank you doctor.
Yes it saved me I had to strokes last year and I came back with no issues after I had them God bless me thanku amen.
Hey Doc, this presentation was uniformly superb. You have so much to be proud of. A clear, concise, explanation of Atrial Fibrillation supported by an easy to comprehend diagrammatic heart pathway sketch.In addition, you have a clear , D.J. type voice, of smooth enunciation. You are a gifted communicator besides being an M.D. with an amazing skillset.
May I ask what state you are in & do you have a practice? Always be safe & thanks,phil🇺🇲🍀💙🙏👍
This may pick up speed and become very useful post Covid vaccine and/or infection, seeing that so many people are suffering from heart issues as a consequence.
Complex made easy. A gift few have!
Thank you for detailed and organized explanation. I have learned so much from this. Despite not being from the medical background, I look forward to checking out more videos from your channel. Please keep up the amazing work.
What an awesome video. I came to get a basic understanding of how to read ecg results from my watch and left with a better understanding of how the heart works. What a miracle machine.
That is most useful. I now understand the issue a lot more than before. What makes it slightly confusing for me is that I have an irregular heartbeat - or as my practice nurse described it "a regular irregular heartbeat". I can now see how to view this WITH the other parts of the wave. Thank you.
Best presentation ever for an ECG
Best explanation I've heard about the basics of the electrical conduction system of the heart and simple ECG reading. 👏
You have a true gift for teaching. Great information in a very easy to understand lecture but still very in depth. Much appreciated!
The video is excellent. I can also thank the smart watch that I am better now. Due to the recordings on the smart watch, they noticed the sick sinus disease in me. I currently wear a pacemaker and am much better. Greetings from Hungary! 🥰
Very clear to this retired nurse…at last it’s sunk in! Thanks 😊
Without a doubt one of the best explanations of normal cardiac rhythm and A Fib that I have ever seen! Thanks Doc for all of your excellent videos. Hope that you & your family are doing well and staying safe! BTW, I got my Moderna COVID booster vaccine yesterday. Hope that everyone does the same! 👍😉
Top stuff. Excellent explanation
I had afib at work tested it on my apple watch and it kept saying afib 5 times. I told my boss i need to go to the ER.
When i got there it had been long enough that i needed to be shocked back into rhythm. I had that done over a year ago and have had normal sinus rhythm since. It also tracks high heart rate. Apple watch life saver.
Thanks, will be upgrading my smart watch next year, to one that can do ECG.
Great video, not bamboozled with terminology, great teaching style.
Can't Thank You enough for the awesome knowledge that I've learned/learning from your channel.
I have a hiatus hernia that makes me swallow a lot of air and sometimes not much space on my chest is left. However my Apple Watch is a blessing because before I had it I was always afraid about my heart. I found out my rythm is irregular but not in a unhealthy way.
I have cardiomyopathy and have a pacemaker and Apple Watch ….Thanks for this very good explanation !
Me and my sister have bought an Apple Watch for my mother who has Afib and it has helped her recording her heart rhythm to her cardiologist
Was just searching for the ECG feature on a watch, but the explanation was so good, I ended up being able to read a lead 1 only ECG. Hahaha
Thank you doctor for your wonderful information. Many stories we have heard that those who wears this watch saved their lives. Non medical professionals like us also can easily understood. Great!!!
My Apple Watch saved my life. It alerted me that my heartrate was 35 beats per minute . I was in danger of “sudden death”according to my electro physiologist. I had a pacemaker procedure and I feel fine.
This gentleman is a very good teacher/speaker.👍🏼
I was diagnosed with Afib in January. I have no idea how long I had it. I have had tachycardia arrhythmias for years and has been on atenolol. I had been having flutters for awhile. So I am in Afib 24/7 now according to my diagnoses and my Apple watch and how I feel. Which sucks…..I am on a blood thinner and another pill besides the atenolol. Am having a cardio version the end of April. My echo on my heart in January said my heart looked good. This info is so interesting and thank you for putting it out there….
Over the top/ excellent presentation & description !
The drawings, accompanied by the articulate reader , at an easy to understand pace is awesome !
Thank you for "filling in" my too many voids of what the process was all about !!!
This is not a commentary on Dr. Seheult's video here, but on the trend towards fitbits, applewatches, rings, and other bio-monitoring tools. While I appreciate the effort to give people some control over their health, the reality is that devices that harvest data will never replace a working health-care system in the US, where you can go to your doctor with questions, instead of buying a toy and then frantically searching the internet for answers. These are stopgap measures for a problem too big to fix with toys.
Thank you very much. I finally get a small understanding of what those ECG diagrams mean.
Thank you for all your amazing videos and explanations, Dr. Seheult! Could you also please make a video on wearable (cuff-less) blood pressure monitoring technology and how accurate it is?
Thank you, that is amazing and you explained it in a way I could understand it.
Thanks ! I now understand more about the ECG on my Apple Watch… I’m planning to upgrade to the latest watch since mine was able to detect Atrial Fibrillation a few times recently. I’ve seen a cardiologist and was put on a holter monitor and the results were okay but atrial fibrillation probably appears when I’m super fatigued
The watches are interesting, but they have one drawback: you have to be immobile when you take an ECG, and in some of them at least "immobile" means sitting down with your watch arm on a table, keeping your head still and not talking. Moving your head or talking can put alarming spikes into the curve; and the fact that you have to sit down means that A-fib happening when you're out somewhere, maybe in weather that makes sitting impractical, won't reliably be measured. And even then, the only time I ever had A-fib-like symptoms (which I virtually never have) and managed to sit down and record it, my cardiologist (who loves these gadgets) looked at the trace for all of five seconds then said "too noisy" and went on to something else. Me, I would have liked one I could use while cycling.
They do have a couple of advantages, though: wearing one gets me out of being hooked to a Holter for 24 hours every 6 months and, more importantly, most of them can take a specific blood oxygen measurement, something that is a further useful tool in diagnosing cardio-pulmonary maladies. They can also help diagnose branch blocks (not covered here).
BTW, you don't need to fork out $$$ for them: a chum bought a Chinese one for 36€ that does everything my 300€ one does. Mine looks nicer, though.
Interesting video... and timing. I have atrial fibrillation since i had covid in april. I have been checked out, and diagnosed. Sometimes daily, sometimes just every 6-10 days fibrillating. I am waiting for a catheter ablation ever since, no date yet (hungarian healthcare at its finest). But they also didnt put me on anticoagulants. They say i am 40, and have no other risks. Of course i am starting to doubth all these, after all the time passed without intervention... I wonder if i should push for anti coagulants? Or just keep pushing for an ablation date....
Very cool! It's nice to understand what the data means. When I had a lot of work stress, I was getting sharp pain in my chest so I checked the ECG on my apple watch. It showed that the pain in my chest happened during an off-rhythm spike, which I'm now guessing is the QRS area.
Could one change the location of the watch to simulate other leads? (ie: wrap the watch around the ankles)
Yes theoretically
Yes, can do Lead II or II with watch resting on left leg and using right finger or left finger on watch crown, respectively.
Wow. A very clear explanation! Need to stay focused for it the whole time.
Fantastic explanation for non medical person(Me). Thank you for these fantastic videos
I was thinking which smart watch to buy because of my breathless problem, i was always checked in the hospital but they said my heart is fine. Thank you for this video, i will now buy that smart watch.
Thank you so much I do appreciate your explanation of your diagram 😇🙏
Thank you for making this fun and easy to understand.
Excellent video! Thank you! The best by far I've seen on explaining ECGs.
What are some conditions that require the other 11 ECG leads for diagnosis? Basically, I would like to know which conditions cannot be diagnosed by a smartwatch ECG and would require a conventional 12 lead ECG ... Would be great if someone could explain or point me to some resources!
WOW, that was fabulous! Are both the Samsung and Apple watches equal in their capabilities?
My watch is showing a picture perfect graph. Thank you heart.
To prospective buyers of these watches, note that not all medical detection features are available in all market areas. Here in Canada, the Samsung ECG function is not certified by Health Canada, and so the watches sold in Canada cannot read your pulse except for counting, or for pulse 'rate'. However, you can guess that you may have an arrhythmia if you induce a pulse check and find that your watch is telling you to 'clean your sensor'. It's somewhat unlikely that your sensor IS dirty, but if you are quite certain it is clean, and your watch feeds back to you that it cannot read your pulse, try your cuff blood pressure reader soonest and you'll probably find that your rate rate reads above 90, possibly as high as 140, even for elderly people (not good, so get help).
Absolutely stunning!! Afib explained in simple english. Kudos to the doctor for doing this 🙂
You have made it very simple to understand the ecg... thank you soo much...I watched many videos tried to get understanding about p wave and qrs... But Was never able to get it....
This really x helped me understand not only my AFib but QT prolongation. I love being able to look at my Apple Watch ECG report and know what it’s showing.
Thank you for this very clear explanation of heart function and ECG EKG. I had an annual physical recently and my P wave and QRS wave look good, it looks like my T wave is inverted and I am just hoping the nurse did not have the sensor correct on my body. The Dr circled the T wave and compared it to my EKG from six years ago and said nothing had changed, but she wants me to take a stress test and see the cardiologist. Any idea on T wave shape and what that might indicate?
What an outstanding video. Very useful info for using my Samsung Smart Watch 4! Thank you so much!
These smart watches are a boon because they alert the user if his/her heart rate is abnormal or irregular!!! These devices help diagnose the problem right when it happens, the correct medical diagnosis & treatment at the right time can save lives!!! In the future we'll have more smart devices that alert you, send your ECG report to your doctor through the internet, saving your life & as well as time!!!
Thank you for this wonderful explanation!!
You explain things better and with more detail than my books do. You're an inspiration to me. God bless!
Thank you for making these
Thank you for your straightforward and thoughtful video. Very much appreciated.
Hi, Thanks for posting. I am currently looking at an Apple watch with ECG. As a 75 YO, this content was enlightening. Question 1)while explaining the different charts, you seemed to imply that chart 1 HAD TO BE with the watch on the left wrist and activation by the right hand. Can one wear the watch on the right wrist? Can the watch be set/lay flat on the chest, Thanks JJ
simply amazing the way the heart works. very good explination
very detail and good education for us. Tks Dr
Very interesting. How often and how long do atrial fibrillation go on for to have consequent of strokes? . People says it is normal to have it every now and then. Thank you Dr Seheult
now i understand, that it makes sense to buy such a smart-watch.
this video shows it can help to save lives or at least make life easier.
thnx for that perfect explanation.