England fans receive smartwatch health warnings during World Cup match England fans received heart-rate warnings from smartwatches during England’s tense fixture against Colombia. Nerve-wracked fans took to Twitter to reveal […]

England fans received heart-rate warnings from smartwatches during England’s tense fixture against Colombia.

Nerve-wracked fans took to Twitter to reveal spiked heart rates as England successfully navigated a penalty shootout for the first time in World Cup history

Some cheering on the Three Lions were issued with a warning from fitness trackers stating “Apple Watch detected a heart rate rose above 120 BPM while you appeared to be inactive during the ten-minute period”.

The i newsletter latest news and analysis Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

‘England will eventually kill me’

A rapid increase in pulse rate can be a symptom of a heart attack, while people suffering from cardiovascular disease are advised to avoid situations that increase stress levels.

Smart watches, or fitness trackers, pick up on these symptoms and send warnings to owners.

The tense penalty shootout at the climax of England knockout match was all too much for some, with heart rates reaching 145bpm.

My mates heart rate spiked during the England v Columbia shootout… his Apple Watch was worried about him. ???????????? pic.twitter.com/P3BTtvBR1E — ʍǝɹpuɐ (@AndrewDearling) July 3, 2018

My Applewatch just alerted me to a high heart rate relative to my activity level. C’mon ENGLAND! — Phil Jones (@Humunculus) July 3, 2018

https://twitter.com/JGrana91/status/1014250940994596865

My Apple Watch clocked me at 190 bpm while idle ffs I can’t keep watching England #COLvsENG — Liam ???? (@wozey) July 3, 2018

England have put their fans through misery over the years, but one fans suggested that the Three Lions may go a step further and “kill” him.

Apple Watch confirming that watching England will eventually kill me. Football, eh! pic.twitter.com/akkqbdDuZ8 — Chris Kerr (@kerrblimey) July 4, 2018

While another Tweeter simply turned the health alerts into a fun game.

New use of Apple Watch; seeing how high watching England can push my heart rate during penalty shoot outs ???? — Claire Knight (@krider2010) July 3, 2018

Call 999 if you begin to feel unwell

The surge in smartwatch health alerts caused by the thrill of watching football comes in the wake of a health warning urging fans with weak hearts to avoid watching their team during tense fixtures.

Dr Jeff Foster of TFJ Private GP Services, in Leamington Spa says fans with weak hearts are particularly at risk if they become too excited while cheering on their team.

He said: “You wouldn’t ask someone who’d just had a heart attack to go out for a run but watching a match can be just as bad.

“Your heart rate can go from 60 beats per minute at rest to something like 120/130 bpm during a match and that is the last thing you want.

“I remember at a previous World Cup, one patient of mine had suffered a heart attack while watching an England match but put off calling 999 until the game had finished.

“He was very sick indeed by that time but said he couldn’t tear himself away from the game.

“It was probably the adrenalin rush which got him through to the final whistle but he took a huge risk and clearly it’s not a gamble worth taking.”

Read more about the World Cup