Cardiologists spend their days assessing other people’s hearts, but they like to monitor their own heart health, too.
It doesn’t require very sophisticated equipment or a lot of time.
Dr. Jennifer Haythe, a cardiologist and co-director of the Columbia Women's Heart Center in New York, shared the gadget she uses to keep track of her own heart health.
Cardiologist Tip of the Day: Wear a Smartwatch to Monitor Heart Health
Haythe wears a smartwatch to follow her resting heart rate and track her sleep. It's one of the ways she monitors herself for heart disease symptoms.
“I do think a smartwatch, at least for myself, has made me more aware of what I do and don't do that makes me feel better in the morning,” she tells TODAY.com.
“So if I have a glass of wine, I feel like my sleep is disturbed consistently in a way that doesn't happen when I don't have anything to drink. I've seen those results, so I really have tried not to drink at all.”
The doctor also notices that when she does meditation, takes a sauna or exercises, all of her metrics are better. Seeing those results reinforces good behavior, she notes.
Why It Matters
A smartwatch can keep tabs on a variety of health metrics such as heart rate, blood oxygen levels and sleep quality. It can also detect irregular heart rhythms.
There are many stories about people discovering hidden health problems after an alert from their smartwatch.
"Smartwatches are increasingly valuable tools for physicians to monitor patient cardiovascular health" since they generate lots of biometric data, researchers wrote in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Haythe likes knowing how the body is responding to stressors.
“I think it's very important to know what people's heart rate is while they're asleep. If their heart rate gets slow and they really can be relaxed while they're sleeping, that's important,” Haythe says.
“If their heart rate is 95 while they're asleep, that's not great. So those are the kinds of things I like to know in my patients.”
How to Get Started
Consider getting a smartwatch.
“It doesn't have to be super fancy. I don't want people to feel like they have to go out and spend a lot of money on a smartwatch,” Haythe says.
A writer for Shop TODAY tried over a dozen fitness trackers and found some favorites.
TODAY’s Expert Tip of the Day series is all about simple strategies to make life a little easier. Every Monday through Friday, different qualified experts share their best advice on diet, fitness, heart health, mental wellness and more.
