Went for a review with my cardiologist last week & he has advised me that he feels I should go on to anticoagulants now as I will be 65 in October. Also he is putting me on the waiting list for an ablation.
My ECG on the day of appointment was ok (no monitoring offered).
As far as I know I have only had 4 attacks of AF in 3 years.
Question is: what are your thoughts on purchasing the Kardia? Will it make me more paranoid, or will it make me make the decision to have the ablation, if I can see it is happening more frequently? because as far as I'm concerned I don't need one at present, although I know the waiting list is about 12 months.
Your thoughts would be most appreciated.
Best wishes Ally
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heartmatters1
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How OCD or paranoid you become is a very individual thing. If you can be structured and not let the machine take over your life then great but my experience is different as are many others.
Regarding the need for ablation my own feeling is that an EP would not offer you a £15k to £20k procedure if they did not think it appropriate particularly in today's cash strapped world. They get paid regardless of the number they may do.
I do feel that 24 hour monitors are a bit of a wast of time for most people who often need much longer to record an event but at the same time it often shows that far more events are occurring than the patient is aware of.
AF is almost always progressive so with 12 month waiting list I think I might be inclined to accept the doctor's advice and see how things go.
Good advice, as usual Bob. 12 months is a long time & my AF could have progressed a lot more by then & if it hasn't (fingers crossed), then I can stall it & let it the ablation go to someone more needy.
I will give the purchase of the Kardia a bit more thought.
I was advised to take Warfarin at age 74 as had AF. After Ablation I am off. All medication except Warfarin which is no problem as just a blood test every month. I also have the app Heart Rate Free on my iPhone which I find good to just check things are ok at times. After Ablation my heart rate came down from around 160 Bpm at times to around 65 Bpm so my has worked well. Had it done at UHNM in Stoke on Trent. They do an excellent service there.
Hi Ally
Whether or not a Kardia will make you paranoid is up to you. Most probably not, once the novelty has worn off.
The thing is whether you are aware when your heart is misbehaving because if not you wouldn't be able to capture AF unless by luck !
If you're, understandably, having doubts about your readiness for an ablation then Yes, if you capture more episodes it will make your decision easier.
I've had my Kardia over 12 months and it has been well used...some might say overused(!) .....particularly in recent months when I've had funny episodes. They are a great invention . I've shown my readings and demonstrated to GP paramedic and ER consultant, none of whom had seen one before much to my surprise.
Best money I have ever spent. I had an ablation over 4 years ago and been mostly fine up until the last 6 months. I first had an Alivecor monitor for probably the last 3 years and if I've had a "funny" episode I can check if there is a problem or its just one of those odd things that everybody has from time to time. The last few weeks I've been having AF bouts and they have been recorded on the Kardia monitor. Occasionally I send the recordings for a proper analysis. The Royal Brompton Hospital in London take the recordings from Kardia seriously and do not consider it a gimmick. That certainly is a good enough recommendation for me. It hasn't made me paronoid just reassured. Definitely buy one if you can.
Whether or not you get paranoid has nothing to do with owning the Kardia device. I bought one only two days after my first AF attack and have never regretted it. I've used it to capture my second attack, and showed the results to my GP. Without that evidence I'm not sure whether or not I would have got my referral to a specialist cardio unit with an EP.
I don't use the Kardia very often, more often to demonstrate it to other people than to check my own heart rate. However, I find it a very great reassurance to always have it available to me should I feel the need to establish whether I really have gone into AF again, or just having a panic attack about something.
I have PAF, and I purchased a Kardia. I use it perhaps once a week, even if in NSR, and print off the readout. When I feel unwell I use the Kardia and get a reading of Possible Atrial Fibrillation. I also take my BP and record that on the Kardia printout. I have shown my 'records' to my Cardiologist and he found them very helpful. My episodes have been more frequent and he has now referred me to EP to discuss Ablation. My Cardiologist told me that a lot of his patients had purchased a Kardia, so he himself had bought one so he understood the use. I would say purchase a Kardi. You do not need the premium package if you email yourself with each reading after you have taken it.
I have PAF. Bought a kardia and I'm very glad I did. I've had tachycardia and afib while at work. Using the kardia I could see if the pill in the pocket was working. That meant I didnt have to leave work and go to A&E. Paid for itself.
I refused to take anticoagulants for my AFIB for 2 years . . . Also refused to have Ablation. Then I had a stroke TIA . Scared me ! So I immediately started Eliquis and scheduled my cryoablation. Don't wait till you have a stroke to follow recommended treatment. I was lucky and did not have any permanent damage from my stroke.
Hi, the Kardia can be useful to record your heart rate, though high readings can be alarming and cause anxiety , which in turn may make AFib worse. I find a good blood pressure monitor to be very effective , and became reliant on taking my own pulse prior to purchasing the Kardia. Personally I think it's overrated for checking heart rate , but I must concede it depends on the individual case. Perhaps it is good for identifying a silent arrhythmia.
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