I have an iPhone 6 and would like to get the best app that would measure my heart beat.

[Choroba13]

I checked the review of the apps for measuring heart beat and they are so confusing a so contradicting. Is there a legitimate source that would guide me in my selection.

[Elbows]

I use Aziumio Inc Instant Heart Rate on my IPhone 6 and I find it strait forward measurement which is easy to use. But all apps should be used with caution and only as an indicator as they can't replace feeling your own pulse and ecg where necessary.

[Dee1989 in reply to Elbows]

yes thats the same one i use!!

[BobD Volunteer]

Alivcor is an I phone compatible one lead ECG machine. If you really have to have a machine rather than rely on mother nature and a good old fashion pulse check that is the one I would go for. Most BP type machines get totally confused when you are in AF so are a waste of time.

[constabule in reply to BobD]

This kind of ties in with my previous post , and no I still cant read my own. Wonder if I am distracted by other things.

Learning not to panic so often know but at the back of my mind I do wonder if a machine would confirm if I should or should not worry.

I did want to add to your comment Bob, re a basic cuff machine .

My own, BP cuff machine . I bought one years ago to do a self check when my Blood Pressure was first thought to be a problem . It will not always give me a reading and often quite different readings within minutes , I do though still use it from time to time. Last time I was in A & E the nurse resorted to checking his own blood pressure with the cuff because he could not decide if the machine was faulty or me that was confusing things , was me. The practice nurse, at my last annual check mentioned that she was not convinced machines were that reliable and did a manual check of the pulse as well .

As always I find reading posts an invaluable guide but reckon its all horses for courses.

[PeterWh in reply to constabule]

It may be past its sell by date now if you bought it years ago. Also even some older ones in hospitals and GP's are unsuitable for those in AF. Probably well worthwhile getting NICE approved one. Helps me considerably and both GP and EP say they can assess more from regular readings rather than odd reference ones. Probably even more use for those with white coat syndrome!!!!

[Dee1989]

I use instant heart rate, its brilliant when i have been in rests on machines have used it and it is the same exact to the beat. obviously this app only registers your pulse nothing else. The only time it is inaccurate i find is if you are in a moving vehicle.

[DrewOTB]

Alivecor is fantastic. Its not just a pulse monitor but rather a personal mobile ecg and can actually tell you if you are in afib or NSR. It's also very easy to send the ecg results directly to a cardiologist for review.

[PeterWh in reply to DrewOTB]

You can also add notes as an events log when things happen, particularly useful if you are out and about!!

[Robyncarmen]

Hey I feel for my pulse it's very easy to find. My wrist of the carotid pulse in my neck simple to find. Count Pulse whilst watching second hand for 15 seconds.

Then once youve counted multiply it by 4 there you have your pulse.

If you get to 20 x4= 80. That's your Pulse reading. Hope it helps you.

Rob xx

[PeterWh in reply to Robyncarmen]

Rob. I disagree with you that 4 x 20 = 80bpm. It could easily be 120bpm or more!!! Let me explain.

When I was first diagnosed as being in AF both the doctor and the nurse (separately) said that I must never take my pulse manually (me or medics) any longer because that was quite inaccurate if in AF (I was / am persistent). It had to be by machine. However when I questioned as to what if I didn't have a machine handy, etc (I like playing devil's advocate and asking analytical questions), they both said in those circumstances to take it over a minute but cautioned that it was likely to be inaccurate, especially if I was self taking. Hand taking or stethoscope was merely an approximate indication. I must admit that at the time I did not understand why but with the knowledge and experience that I have now gained I do understand where they were coming from. Incidentally one of them also warned me that some of the machines in hospitals and in GP's were not actually suitable for patients in AF and therefore I should ask. That was only 18 months ago.

I decided to do some scientific tests. I always sat down for at least 5 mins before taking any readings and had not done anything energetic previously. I took a 2 min AliveCor reading. In that time looking at 15 sec blocks of time my HB ranged from 4 a sec for a significant amount of time and this equated to a HB of 240bpm (actually technically there were just 5 beats in 1 sec). Then in another block of 15 secs only 5 beats which equates to 20bpm. This is a variance of 1,200%, extreme I know. On one occasion when I had been having problems and had to go to GP's I took a few AliveCor printouts which each covered a 2 min timespan. I saw a locum GP and she immediately made a 15 sec template because she knew of the variations that can and do exist and was very interested to see the range. She said that it was excellent they were 2 mins long because it gave her a chance to see more as to what was happening.

When someone is in AF, the strength of the HB can vary considerably as well as the rate varying considerably. This is why something like an AliveCor is key because it can not only accurately puck up rate but also, importantly, it can accurately and consistently determine whether each "spike" is truly a pulse or is an interference (not quite the right word but it will do).

It is impossible manually to determine an exact number of someone in fast AF at say 180bpm (and some get faster rates) let alone decide which of the "spikes" are truly beats (there could have been 5 in this period). This is particularly true if self administered.

Because of my training, background and interest, I did some analysis and comparisons in the weeks after I bought my AliveCor. My approach whilst was very structured and was quite scientific. I took various readings over different time durations and also analysed quite a few 2 min and 5 min readings. The variance and variables were very interesting and as a consequence I decided to always take 2 min readings and set my AliveCor to do this. That way I get truly comparable readings from day to day. Also has the advantage in that if I am getting irregularities then it is a longer recording period. Overall this gave a lower average HB than taking a 30 sec reading but this reduced "errors" and blips. Interestingly the 15 sec results were always significantly out. I also suspect that this is why AliveCor have the minimum setting of 30 secs.

[Robyncarmen]

Meant my wrist. Or pulse in the neck.

[constabule in reply to Robyncarmen]

Am told I can be a pain in the neck

[Jonathan_C]

I have a Polar H7 which sends my HR via bluetooth to the iphone. I use the Polar Beat App when exercising. It records my hr data during the workout and I can analyse it afterwards.

When I was in a-fib i could see it (the a-fib) very clearly.

[dmac4646]

When out use the stopwatch on the i phone and simple finger in the pulse for 15 secs - fastest way to tell pulse rate and whether you are in NSR.

[PeterWh in reply to dmac4646]

Not always accurate for rate (see my comments above). Yes will tell you is in NSR or AF (but for those of us in persistent AF we know that anyway!!).

[dmac4646 in reply to PeterWh]

If I want to know rate accurately I use Alive Cor.

[PeterWh in reply to dmac4646]

Suggest setting for 1 min orrrr 2 min reading to get best accuracy.