Just how accurate are heart rate monitors?

Triathlon Forum
1

Yesterday at the urgent care center I was observed for about two hours with a HR / Oxygen clip on my finger.

I’d say that my avg HR while laying there for the two hours was 58 with readings as low as 52 and as high as 64. The quick EKG that I had done reported a 56.

This morning 6:00am, after driving an hour, my ortho gave me a resting HR, while sitting of 49.

I have never seen my polar HR monitor record such low readings and now I’m wondering if the hospital’s systems are just that more accurate. I have’t done it in awhile, but if I were to strap on my HR monitor and just sit around and watch TV or something, I think my avg hr would be around 67-70. (I have not been training all that much so I can’t say I’m in the best of shape right now.)

Any thoughts?

2

Polar advertises their monitors as medically accurate…that they count every heart beat.

Timex, on the other hand, counts every 5 beats.

At least that is the info I was given in tech sessions at the running store.

G

3

Right now I am wearing a cardiac event recorder. The numbers on it and my Polar watch and Garmin watch are always within 1-2 beats of each other even when I go into some type of arrhythmia.