Afib monitors

[eSpectator]

Has anyone out there found a heart rate monitor that records fibrillation so that the wearer can see how their heart performed over the last 24 hours or so? I would appreciate hearing about your experience and whether it was used for not. Please include information on the device you use.

[eSpectator]

I'm not talking here about the $6000 devices hospitals use. I'm hoping to find one for about $100 or $200.

[BobD Volunteer]

No idea about USA but here in UK few monitors can cope with AF. The exception is Alivecor which is a US based company anyway but is a point of time machine where you take your ECG as and when.

[PeterWh]

I have an idea that the Microlife WatchBPHome Cuff Monitor has a version called N for monitoring all night but not sure what is does or if it is available in the US. The AFib version monitors both BP and HB.

[Jonathan_C]

I would get a Polar H7 strap and connect it to your smartphone using something like the Polar Beat App.

You could get one of their watches that will record your HR for a while and download the data whenever you want. Either approach is going to consume batteries.

[IanB48]

I don't know if you live in the UK as this information will be useless if you don't (!) but Boots the Chemists are currently advertising a new heart monitoring device which it is claimed detects AFib. However, it's not cheap £100+.

[PeterWh in reply to IanB48]

See comments above re it being a Microlife. The Boots one was advertised in the paper at £129.xx

[zara1977 in reply to IanB48]

Be interested in opinions of how good this is. I am getting quite good at feeling my pulse though and I do know when I am in af.

[PeterWh in reply to zara1977]

Before I bought my Microlife I could always tell from my pulse that I was in AF, but then I am in persistent AF. I had been using a well known BP wrist monitor but EP told me they were very inaccurate (I did some cross checking after I bought my Microlife and found differences of up to 40% - sometimes high, sometimes low) for anyone in AF and to buy a cuff monitor it but it must be one approved by the British Hypertension Society. I am not sure whether it was EP or AFA website that I had seen about NICE approval. I did my research and that is when I plumped for the Microlife WatchBPHome A (for AFib) BP monitor. It was a month or two later that I found out about the AliveCor.

If you are wanting to pick up HR and whether in AF or not then I would buy the AliveCor EVERY time as it is easy and accurate and produces a printout. If you are wanting to measure BP and see if in AF then go for the Microlife. However there are odd occasions (say 1 in 20 or 30 times) when the Microlife does not show AF but the AliveCor does show it and I know I am in AF as it is persistent. I always take HR with AliveCor first then immediately take BP with Microlife.

One thing that I am not sure of because it was not relevant at the time is whether or not any of the other Microlife model variants are suitable for taking BP if you are in AF because at the time it was not a relevant parameter for me. At the time I think that the Microlife AF Model was somewhere between £5 and £10 more expensive than the standard or base model. I personally TODAY would still pay that little extra to know it was suitable for someone actually in AF and accuracy unaffected. When I phoned up some other manufacturers about their cuff BP monitors and suitability for use with AF some said unsuitable completely and some said much wider error. In fact one said that you had to buy a medial professional grade one that was suitable for AF and that even some medical ones were unsuitable. I found this out again when visiting a hospital (nearly all the older monitors are unsuitable). None of teh manufacturers said their monitors were unaffected by AF.

[tony85]

I have a Microlife blood pressure monitor which also shows if I am in afib or not. I take my BP 3 times a day, so I find it very useful

[tony85]

The monitor I mentioned is Microlife "gentle" It is probably the one mentioned as being available in Boots for £100. Mine cost about £70. Boots is notoriously expensive, hence the price difference.

[IanB48 in reply to tony85]

Thanks for this. Very useful information!

[destept]

I live in US. I use DailyCare model RMH4.2 made in Taiwan , two leads recording, around $500

I use it very rarely in a continuous mode.I have an app on my Iphone for the pulse . When is not ok I use the recording, You can print it etc.

[PeterWh]

If you are just wanting it to detect whether you are in AF or not then I personally would buy an AliveCor for a number of reasons. If you want it for a BP monitor then I would personally buy the Microlife. In essence a high level summary is:

The AliveCor is a 2 lead ECG machine that gives good accuracy when compared to a 12 lead hospital ECG recorder. It also gives an instant analysis and it is very useful to capture those problem moments and you can send to or show to medical professionals. It is also more accurate re the rate that the Microlife (the Microlife in turn is more accurate than many others).

The Microlife is a good cuff blood pressure monitor that also measures HB. However it is much more of a snapshot and you have to have AF detected by it on all 3 or 4 readings it takes to show up that you are in AF. Therefore if you are in paroxysmal but return to sinus before the last reading it will NOT show that you were in AF. Occasionally for me it shows not in AF where as the AliveCor does show in AF. The Microlife is the only cuff monitor approved by NICE. make sure that you get the "A" model if you want it for detecting AFib.

I have both and my daily routine is taking HR with AliveCor first then BP and HR with Microlife straight afterwards. Both devices store the information and then I input the results into a spreadsheet periodically.

[Hidden]

I have an app on my iphone that tells me whether af is detected or not and also gives me my heart rate and then stores the information. It is a very simple device but is free and reassures me when I think things are not quite right. I have pAF so this app is probably not sophisticated enough for your requirements but thought I would mention it.

[PeterWh in reply to Hidden]

I tried a few apps before I bought my AliveCor. However I found the apps nearly always would not pick up HB. I did a bit of thinking and then a few trials. It seemed to work better for women than men. I suspect because we have harder and thicker skin.

[zara1977]

My only comment is what do you do if you know you are in AF? I work full time and its not always possible to stop so I take deep breaths and trust the anti coag and carry on. I am nearly always tachycardic which my wonderful EP is trying to sort but I think my heart has got used to this and efforts to lower the rate are making me feel much tireder than usual and I feel ok with heart beating at 100 plus. I never ever take bp as I sort of know by now if I feel OK or not and prefer to rely on that. Sometimes I will check my own pulse and look for fluttering but I generally know if I am in af. The only thing that will stop af is rest and more rest so I get whatever it is I am doing done, cut out anything absolutely unnecessary and sit down as soon as I can. I really do not worry about my chronic AF - I have now learnt how to live with it but I had more difficulty in learning how to talk about it. I don't want it seen as some kind of illness but on the other hand I want people to respect how wonderfully well I cope with it..... See you cannot please me!!

[PeterWh in reply to zara1977]

Zara

Who is the question aimed at?

[eSpectator]

Thanks everyone for the helpful info. I am now sorting through the options to see what will work for me.