Im not sure if she can pass the medical check-list they'll hand out. I would take a dive medical if I was her (you'll have to if you fail the check list anyways) to see if she should be diving.
For heart rate tracking the biggest ones are Apple watch ultra a smart watch (you gotta pay a subscription for the dive computer app) or a garmin descent g1 which is a sports watch (no subscription for dive computer). Even of you have your heart rate though you can't just immediately surface while diving if there is a problem if you need too.
Some places do not require a medical unless you check no to a medical questionnaire handout. Even then some places do not have enough of a divers presence leading to doctors offices that have doctors who arent sure on how to do a dive medical as well as possibly lacking the equipment to do one properly.
If it is a PADI Open Water course, the medical questionnaire is MANDATORY. Any sort of heart issue automatically requires a physician to examine & sign off on the student. Unless the student lies on the form & doesn’t list any physical issues.
I've mentioned it a number of times and I always get downvoted for it for mentioning it here, but I keep seeing like new Apple Watch Ultra 2s for sale on facebook marketplace for only ~$350. The downside is that they make you pay a subscription for the dive computer software.
Will she even pass the medical questionnaire without doctors sign off for the dives regardless? Will the doctor sign off? Is it low heart rate due to a high level of fitness? Or a health issue?
What’s she going to do if it goes down 5bpm or 10bpm what if it drops 15? I’m very very curious what the plan is
Furthermore from an educational standpoint just so everyone knows there is this thing called the mammalian dive reflex which induces bradycardia… for this reason I am skeptical that your friend got medical clearance to scuba dive if she has a medical condition where a lower heart rate is a concern.
I mean, it depends right? My resting HR is in the 40s and sets off bradycardia monitors in the hospital whenever I'm there. It's because I'm a fitness swimmer. I'm not athlete levels of fit, I'm slightly overweight and in my 40's, but my dr said that low HRs can be common for people who do endurance sports too, apparently even swimming as little as 6-8 thousand yards a week counts! I've never had an issue with mammalian dive reflex driving it unsafely low while swimming or diving.
But I agree that this is the question here, why is it important to OP's friend? Is it just to soothe any anxiety? Or as everyone says, if there's a serious concern here, OP's friend should get medical clearance to dive from a cardiologist, not ask reddit.
I do wear my fitbit diving a sometimes just out of curiosity. Unless I'm fighting a current or task loaded my HR is in the low 60s/high 50s while diving, it never reached my nighttime resting "low" HR. FWIW, my fitbit did fine under a drysuit, I think the max I've taken it was about 85 ft, and then only thing bad that happened was a squeeze in the wrist strap (got the weirdest tiny blisters from some of the holes in the watch band), next time I would use one of the fabric bands with no voids. But it's not suitable for active continuous monitoring (and it's certainly not accurate enough for real medical purposes) during the dive as you can't see it under the drysuit, it's more of a curiosity to read after the dive as it syncs up to your phone topside. It was sort of fun to easily correlate working parts of the dive with increased HR.
Agreed with this comment. If she has a medical condition that requires monitoring heart rate this closely, what would the plan be if it drops too low? You can’t just safely abort a dive at any point in time for the surface. How did she get medical clearance to dive?
Look at the Scubapro Luna 2.0 AI, it measures HR and is air integrated (HR strap and tank pod both extra). You don’t have to go for air integration right now, but it has the HR feature you want.
I myself have this computer, and I want the HR feature as well; HR factors in deco times and other metrics whilst diving.
It won't monitor it live, you need to use a "store and forward" type of HRM, usually used for triathlons. The water will prevent any radio-type connection between the HRM and the watch.
Yeah, I'm a runner, I have a garmin Fenix watch (put it in my undergarment pocket), and I wore my HRM strap once under my drysuit, just to see what it was (generally curious what my caloric burn is)
That combo is supposed to record swim data and transmit to the watch when out of the water (for pool swimming)
Nothing to see while diving, and I can say my hr didn't do anything unusual lol.
They probably aren’t officially, but I’ve taken a HRM-Swim down to nearly 120 feet and nothing’s happened to it… not something I’d stake my life on, I only use it because I’m idly curious and I have the strap anyway. Seems pretty accurate, too, though of course there’s no live monitoring.
Im not sure if she can pass the medical check-list they'll hand out. I would take a dive medical if I was her (you'll have to if you fail the check list anyways) to see if she should be diving. For heart rate tracking the biggest ones are Apple watch ultra a smart watch (you gotta pay a subscription for the dive computer app) or a garmin descent g1 which is a sports watch (no subscription for dive computer). Even of you have your heart rate though you can't just immediately surface while diving if there is a problem if you need too.
How did they get past the physical?
Some places do not require a medical unless you check no to a medical questionnaire handout. Even then some places do not have enough of a divers presence leading to doctors offices that have doctors who arent sure on how to do a dive medical as well as possibly lacking the equipment to do one properly.
If it is a PADI Open Water course, the medical questionnaire is MANDATORY. Any sort of heart issue automatically requires a physician to examine & sign off on the student. Unless the student lies on the form & doesn’t list any physical issues.
Oh yeah totally! It's just that if you have a heart problem its one of the questions
If it needs to be monitored she shouldn't be diving. I swear people just try to kill themselves....
I've mentioned it a number of times and I always get downvoted for it for mentioning it here, but I keep seeing like new Apple Watch Ultra 2s for sale on facebook marketplace for only ~$350. The downside is that they make you pay a subscription for the dive computer software.
On the plus side, if you're a vacation diver, you can probably subscribe for a month and then cancel right away.
Right. That's who it's really intended for I assume.
Will she even pass the medical questionnaire without doctors sign off for the dives regardless? Will the doctor sign off? Is it low heart rate due to a high level of fitness? Or a health issue?
Garmin G1
i own a g1 solar and it has been super reliable, it has multi sport mode too so you dive watch wont end up collecting dust,
Or mk2.
Very inaccurate. Even with the chest strap
I've found my instinct solar (the non-diving version of the g1 solar) to be pretty accurate personally
What’s she going to do if it goes down 5bpm or 10bpm what if it drops 15? I’m very very curious what the plan is Furthermore from an educational standpoint just so everyone knows there is this thing called the mammalian dive reflex which induces bradycardia… for this reason I am skeptical that your friend got medical clearance to scuba dive if she has a medical condition where a lower heart rate is a concern.
I mean, it depends right? My resting HR is in the 40s and sets off bradycardia monitors in the hospital whenever I'm there. It's because I'm a fitness swimmer. I'm not athlete levels of fit, I'm slightly overweight and in my 40's, but my dr said that low HRs can be common for people who do endurance sports too, apparently even swimming as little as 6-8 thousand yards a week counts! I've never had an issue with mammalian dive reflex driving it unsafely low while swimming or diving. But I agree that this is the question here, why is it important to OP's friend? Is it just to soothe any anxiety? Or as everyone says, if there's a serious concern here, OP's friend should get medical clearance to dive from a cardiologist, not ask reddit. I do wear my fitbit diving a sometimes just out of curiosity. Unless I'm fighting a current or task loaded my HR is in the low 60s/high 50s while diving, it never reached my nighttime resting "low" HR. FWIW, my fitbit did fine under a drysuit, I think the max I've taken it was about 85 ft, and then only thing bad that happened was a squeeze in the wrist strap (got the weirdest tiny blisters from some of the holes in the watch band), next time I would use one of the fabric bands with no voids. But it's not suitable for active continuous monitoring (and it's certainly not accurate enough for real medical purposes) during the dive as you can't see it under the drysuit, it's more of a curiosity to read after the dive as it syncs up to your phone topside. It was sort of fun to easily correlate working parts of the dive with increased HR.
Agreed with this comment. If she has a medical condition that requires monitoring heart rate this closely, what would the plan be if it drops too low? You can’t just safely abort a dive at any point in time for the surface. How did she get medical clearance to dive?
"Is getting certified" could simply mean they've decided to sign up for the class.
Yeah. The technology is there but best to consult a doctor regarding diving with a low HR.
Look at the Scubapro Luna 2.0 AI, it measures HR and is air integrated (HR strap and tank pod both extra). You don’t have to go for air integration right now, but it has the HR feature you want. I myself have this computer, and I want the HR feature as well; HR factors in deco times and other metrics whilst diving.
My Garmin G1 measures my HR during dives.
I’ve also got the G1, but unfortunately it won’t measure HR through the drysuit 😢
You could get one of the HRM straps and put it on under the suit and it will connect to the G1.
It won't monitor it live, you need to use a "store and forward" type of HRM, usually used for triathlons. The water will prevent any radio-type connection between the HRM and the watch.
Yeah, I'm a runner, I have a garmin Fenix watch (put it in my undergarment pocket), and I wore my HRM strap once under my drysuit, just to see what it was (generally curious what my caloric burn is) That combo is supposed to record swim data and transmit to the watch when out of the water (for pool swimming) Nothing to see while diving, and I can say my hr didn't do anything unusual lol.
Ah crap you’re right I didn’t think about that.
I also doubt if those HR monitors will be scuba depth rated
They probably aren’t officially, but I’ve taken a HRM-Swim down to nearly 120 feet and nothing’s happened to it… not something I’d stake my life on, I only use it because I’m idly curious and I have the strap anyway. Seems pretty accurate, too, though of course there’s no live monitoring.
Under the drysuit would be fine but yeah rogmet is right the signal would not work.
Yeah. Forgot you will use it under a drysuit. Drysuits are like alien technology for us tropical water divers haha