Alivecor: I bit the bullet and bought... - Atrial Fibrillati...

Atrial Fibrillation Support

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Alivecor

dedeottie profile image
21 Replies

I bit the bullet and bought an Alivecor gadget at patients day.I used it a few times to check I was doing it correctly and stowed it away in a drawer so I wouldn't obsess! At the weekend , my husband who has had a few runs of tachycardia over the last few years, went into A.F. we recorded it on Alivecor , printed it out and took it to the G.P. who was more than happy to accept the reading. So prompt action has been taken and all the usual tests set up without having a monitor. How unbelievably lucky was that!

Mind you I'm a bit miffed that I can't even have A.F. in peace. Hope it's not going to be like man flu. X

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dedeottie profile image
dedeottie
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21 Replies
shirljo profile image
shirljo

Oh honestly these husbands always want the same as us eh!! But what a great thing you did to take the reading and you got sorted quickly. I have used my Alivecor on several occasions and my GP always asks for updates. My cardiologist added it to my notes that I have one and is happy for any readings to be put on my records.

Expensive but a good gadget to have.

Hope you both well now :)

Makes me think I ought to get an Alivecor. Where is the best place to get one, cost etc and are they really easy to use as I'm not very techy. I have a Moto E phone ...android....would that support it? I have another year to go on my contract so wouldn't want to update until then. Sandra

Barry24 profile image
Barry24 in reply to

Hi Sandra,

Hope you are well and taking care. I got mine from Amazon a few months ago for around £80. Sorry to say I had nothing but problems with mine (could never get a proper reading), so I sent it back. Having said that, many people on the forum have no problems whatsoever and believe they are a "most have" item.

You can attach Alivecor to the back of your phone, or place it near to your smartphone or ipad etc to get a reading. You need to download the software first.

Hope this helps.

Best Wishes

Barry

Drounding profile image
Drounding in reply to

My Alivecor works fine on my Android phone (Samsung with Android 5.0) . It requires Android 4.0 and upwards.

PeterWh profile image
PeterWh in reply to

I have had mine since beginning of the year and had no problems whatsoever. You can also email your EP, cardiologist or GP with the results.

BobD profile image
BobDVolunteer

Of course it will be. It is a well known fact that men have much worse everything!

rosyrosie2013 profile image
rosyrosie2013

I do not have Alivecor but do use an App on my phone AF Detect. Cost under £1.50. Your finger is placed on the camera at back. Only a guide to how you are but if constantly showing AF worth seeing your doctor. It may show AF occasionally if your pulse is quite irregular maybe after eating drinking alcohol etc but may be nothing to be concerned about. I try it occasionally when I am really well to check reading. It is quite a good guide.

Mike11 profile image
Mike11 in reply torosyrosie2013

That's an interesting idea. I use an £10 oxymeter in a similar manner to save carrying my slightly larger than Alivecor ECG around. Do you have a name for the app ?

rosyrosie2013 profile image
rosyrosie2013 in reply toMike11

It is just called AF Detect. The middle 't' looks like a cross. You will find easily if you google. Prices vary slightly depending where you download from. Approx £1.30. ITunes have it but others too. Not sure if it varies on accuracy depending on quality of your phone camera. I have a pretty good one.

Mike11 profile image
Mike11 in reply torosyrosie2013

Thanks - and it's even got a Windows Phone version for my Nokia where the camera won't be a problem - it's the best available in any phone at 41 megapixels.

Downloading it now.

PeterWh profile image
PeterWh in reply torosyrosie2013

I could never get the app to work apart from the very odd occasion (say 1 in 25 to 1 in 50). Found out that was because I was in persistent AF and also often phone camera can't pick up veins in finger. My SA consultant said not to rely on oximeters at all for HB (I already knew that and it applies to almost all HB monitors) and only as a guide for SpO2 levels unless it was a medical grade one.

Finvola profile image
Finvola

It was certainly worth getting the Alivecor to have such a speedy diagnosis for your husband - well done. Hope you both keep well - and no competing, now.

What a brilliant result, well done.

There's no such thing as man-flu though. It's a proven scientific fact that men suffer more when they have flu. A group of male scientists discovered this, so it must be true :-)

K

jeanjeannie50 profile image
jeanjeannie50

Oh, your last comment made me laugh and really cheered me up. Thank you.

heather-7 profile image
heather-7

We had the reverse situation. My husband was found to have Afib during a stress test about 6 years ago. I was found to have it during a routine Dr.'s appointment. I had known something was wrong but had been told my fainting in AM was due to dehydration from excess urination during the night.

At least I knew some of the questions to ask since I'd researched it for him.

Heather R

shirljo profile image
shirljo

I downloaded the ap for my phone and proudly showed my cardiologist at my appointment and he took a reading while I was there and it was so out of what was true (we compared ecg results prior to that) and told me it was giving me false results which could cause me to stress! That is why I bought the Alivecor - and have never had a problem with it. I don't keep it attached to my phone but in a small pouch in my bag just in case I'm having 'a moment'!

Bryonny profile image
Bryonny

Glad you were able to access help for your husband really quickly. Hope that you are keeping well. It was lovely to meet up with you at the conference. Martine

dedeottie profile image
dedeottie in reply toBryonny

Thank you. Yes it was really good to meet you as well. I feel as though I have made some good friends. I thought it was funny that mostly we all look so fit and healthy!! No wonder we have trouble making people believe us. We got some fantastic answers to questions didn't we and as a result I am feeling a lot more relaxed about it all. Take care.x

Bryonny profile image
Bryonny

I thought the whole day was great and like you learnt a lot from the answers we got. We did look at healthy bunch but on 'off' days I am sure we would present quite a different picture! Take care. X

PeterWh profile image
PeterWh in reply toBryonny

Yes but even on off days people may not notice even if they are observant. I also suspect that many of us just get on as best as we can (I know I do) and not wallow in it.

Bryonny profile image
Bryonny in reply toPeterWh

Dear Peter, I agree with you. I want to just get on as best I can and try and lead as normal a life as possible. I prefer not to talk about my health as it is just part of who I am and I want to focus on other things in life. (I guess that may sound ironic as I add a message on this site)!

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