Pacing
LongCOVID & ME/CFS
App for GARMIN Smartwatches
First things first:
This is for those affected by Long- or PostCOVID and ME/CFS, who have to live their lives at their own pace in order to have a life at all.
The app is not a medical product and does not claim to be accurate. It is for information purposes only!
The app is a purely private project and is NOT developed by GARMIN.
Instructions for setup ans use
Many thanks for your work !!
The app exists in several versions:
... as watch face
Download from GARMIN IQ-Store:
Download from GARMIN IQ-Store:
Functions:
NO alarm if the maximum heart rate is exceeded
NO recording
Continuous monitoring possible throughout the day
Low battery consumption
... as an activity - such as "walking" or "yoga"
Download from GARMIN IQ Store:
Download from GARMIN IQ Store:
Functions:
Alarm (vibration and sound) when the maximum heart rate is exceeded
Optional recording of the exceedance as an event and display in Garmin Connect™
Adjustable monitoring interval
Slightly higher battery consumption
Note for AMOLED:
Do not leave the app in use for too long, otherwise it may "burn in" to the display. For permanent use, use the clock face version.
... as a data field within an existing activity
Keeping moving seems to be an important aspect of the disease in order to prevent muscle loss, to continue to participate in social life and to slowly push one's own exercise limit upwards in very small steps.
To ensure that you do not overload yourself during a walk, the LongCOVID pacing data field can be integrated into the (standard) Garmin activity. This warns you if the heart rate limit is permanently exceeded.
Download in the GARMIN IQ Store
Functions:
Alarm (vibration and sound) when the maximum heart rate is exceeded
Integration into any activity (e.g. walking, Pilates, yoga, cycling ...) as a separate data field.
Calculation of the maximum heart rate for pacing: (new formula)
Calculating the heart rate for pacing depends on several factors:
Gender
Age
Disease (Long COVID or ME/CFS)
First, the maximum heart rate must be calculated. Since no athletic performance test can be expected from sick people, a rule of thumb must suffice. This is calculated as follows depending on gender:
Women: HRmax = 206 - (age x 0.88)
Example: HRmax = 206 - (43 years x 0.88) = 168Men: HRmax = 207 - (age x 0.7)
Example: HRmax = 207 - (43 years x 0.7) = 177
Depending on the disease, this maximum heart rate is now multiplied by a factor:
Factor for Long COVID = 0.6
Factor for ME/CFS = 0.5
People with ME/CFS therefore appear to have a lower exercise threshold than patients with Long COVID.
Example for a 43 year old woman with LongCOVID:
HRmax = 206 - (43 years x 0.88) = 168
max HRpacing = 168 x 0.6
max HRpacing = 101
The value must be an integer.
IMPORTANT: These formulas and values for the factors are “only” approximate and NOT exact and may vary from person to person, so if you find that the value for pacing does not quite suit you, change it.
Links to the topic:
maximum heart rate at: German journal of sports medicine
Many thanks at this point to Sharon Hardy (California, USA) for her support.
What is “dynamic Pacing”? (New function)
As a rule, the maximum heart rate that may not be exceeded is specified for pacing (see the section above).
However, you should “actually” question these values (heart rate and duration) from time to time and check whether the values are still suitable for you personally. Perhaps you can increase your maximum heart rate a little because you are feeling better now. Or you may be having a bad day and your maximum heart rate should actually be lower or the duration should be shorter.
But do you adjust these values so often or do you make these settings once and leave everything as it is?
The current values for pacing are shown in the “Resilience” display.
The new values are always based on the values that are set in the settings.
The new values for pacing are NOT carried over to the next day.
This function is NOT active by default and must be explicitly activated in the settings.
If the function is deactivated again, the original values are restored.
The function is NOT available for the data field and for the widget.
What is the Pacing rate?
The pacing rate is directly linked to the current heart rate and indicates how far away you are from the set maximum heart rate.
The higher the value, the closer you are to overload.
What is "Resilience"?
The resilience indicates how resilient you probably are today.
The value for "resilience" ranges from 1 - "Caution", to 3 - "Stable" and 5 - "Good".
The calculation is based on the values of the last 21 days for resting heart rate in the morning and the maximum value of the body battery (if available with the watch). At least 5 days are required for the first calculation. A corresponding note is displayed on the watch.
The value should help to plan the day according to the available energy and, depending on the value, not to take on too much.
A graph is displayed below the value. Similar to the pacing or stress rate, the minimum is on the far left and the maximum on the far right.
The small vertical line symbolizes the average of all measurements.
The respective dot represents the current value.
Depending on whether the point is to the left or right of the mean value, this has a negative or positive influence on the stress capacity value. A lower value is better for the resting heart rate; a higher value for the BodyBattery.
Depending on the version of the app you are using - clock face or activity - "Resilience" is displayed in different ways. See the settings for the respective version.
Note:
The function is now available as a stand-alone widget:
Download in the GARMIN IQ-Store:
PACING:
The app is based on the principle of "pacing" for long or post-COVID or fatigue and MC/FS.
The aim is not to permanently exceed a maximum heart rate in order to protect against overload.