In 2024, I traded in my Fenix 6x Pro Solar for a Fenix 7x Pro Solar Sapphire because the HR feature, compass and a few other things were malfunctioning after snorkelling. I had been training for the Chicago marathon and needed a new watch right away to train with. I'm 49 and this is my first marathon, so I'm worried that I want the training to go well. I had been having some high heart rate measurements on runs and I wanted to fix the problem asap. I didn't want to pay the few hundred for a new watch, but it was a heavy discount on the newest flagship model, it was a sapphire edition, had a brighter MIP screen, and I needed a Garmin to train with. So getting this new watch with all the new features was the smart decision I thought. I was especially interested in the ECG feature I had been reading about for months. Working with customer service was easy. They were very helpful. And when I was placing the order for the new watch, they even asked me what color I wanted. Nice.
Once I received the new watch, I immediately tried out the new ECG feature. Pretty cool. I went for a run and was surprised to see my heart rate was still kind of high. Weird. I was sure the old watch was malfunctioning. Two days later, I went on another run. It went OK, but I felt terrible. I tried the ECG feature again and this time Atrial Fibrillation was detected. Suddenly, my insane 200+ BPM heart rate from before seemed like it might be accurate. This was initially confusing to me, but then I remembered twice a few years ago I went for a bike ride and almost collapsed thinking at the time it was heat stroke. OMG. I told my wife, an oncology NP, and we tried to schedule an appointment with a cardiologist. Unfortunately, the next available was 3+ months out. A week later, I went into the Emergency Room feeling faint and nauseated.
This is me soooo annoyed that I couldn't get an appointment earlier. The ER Cardiologist-on-call asked to see all of my Garmin ECG measurements on Garmin Connect. She tapped on the traces on my phone and scanned them to confirm what I had been telling her. Luckily I had been using the ECG feature any time I felt bad and had a lot of data they could look at. They hooked me up to a 12-lead ECG machine and detected Atrial Flutter. Then they hooked me up to another ECG machine with even more leads and recorded the activity on paper. They recommended I visit an Electrophysiologist, and a few weeks later, I was scheduled for an ablation procedure. For weeks, I continued to measure my heart rate and heart rhythm with my new Fenix 7X Pro. They told me that if my heart rate went above a certain level, I should take a medication to reduce it to lower my risk of having a stroke. So I used the ECG feature to get the actual measurement and plan my meds accordingly.
I tell you...when you're waiting a few weeks for heart surgery, you start to look around at the world and see things a little differently. You feel bad but you realize it could all end. You want to be focus on your own physical pain but you realize scaring the ones you love is selfish.
Laying on the back deck looking up at the stars.
Taco, our dog, anxiously watching me.
We bought this beautiful weird plant and it reminded me of all the paths we can take in life. Some of the branches twist and turn, some end quickly, all are reaching.
Even my dog was treating me differently, looking at me intensely, doting over me. He didn't understand why I had to stop running and exercising and why my wife was now mowing the lawn while every little thing made me tired. I later learned that dogs can hear your heart beat from across the room. I was suddenly self conscious around him.
Eventually, I got into the hospital for the ablation. I took off my Garmin only after they hooked me up to a big ECG machine. Immediately, alarms started sounding if I breathed too fast or got too worried about the coming procedure. I had come in early, and for 6.5 hours, I laid in a bed listening to my irregular heartbeat beeping on that machine like morse code transmitting to a disinterested universe. This was my view for almost 7 hours:
The procedure went smoothly. I was awake for the whole thing, like wide awake. I didn't expect that, but the technology they used was super cool. After the procedure, my heart rate was like a metronome, a basketball bouncing, the rhythm of an approaching battalion of warriors. I called in a nurse passing by in the hallway to listen to how regular it was and I almost cried at how steady the beeps were now. How long had my heart been holding me back? What am I now capable of? Superman without the Kryptonite?
Garmin doesn't rest of their laurels. They wanted to compete with the likes of Apple, Samsung and Fitbit in this arena of wearable health monitors, but they went the extra step of getting their watches, which are already the best in the industry for sports, certified with the US FDA to be accurate when it comes to health. Maybe other wearables already had ECG capability, but Garmin put that functionality in the best watch!
I feel that their warranty and exchange policies have been exceptional compared to other companies. Because of this and their great hardware and software, I'm now able to write this post without feeling like my heart is going to bounce out of my chest. I spent my life feeling my heart palpate. I just thought that was normal. It wasn't until Garmin that I knew those past symptoms weren't heat stroke, or weakness, or just being tired, or anxiety. Garmin said, "Hey, look at this. Maybe get yourself checked out." I could have had a stroke from this condition. I could have lived my life with this condition waiting for it to strike at the worst time, like during a marathon. I could have died. But Garmin took their best watches and made them better, and they ended up with something that saved my life.
On behalf of my wife, my dog, my parents and friends, and myself, thank you Garmin and the people behind the ECG program, the customer service department, and the Fenix 7X Pro Solar Sapphire.
But most of all, thanks to my incredible, smart, beautiful, talented, patient and funny wife for helping me get through all of this. She saves my life everyday.
Jon Hillenbrand
