How do you use Kardia and is it useful?I

[wilsond]

I have finally been given anticoagulants after a long fight with GP. He said my CHAD score was only 1.ended up having a,TIA last weekend,whilst visiting relatives.Hospital put me on Apixaban,replaced bisoprolol with Flecanaide as my heart was way too low.and scored me as 2.Big history of strokes and heart probs in family

I'm settling down but wondered about this Kardia thing for added peace of mind.I am changing GP!!

I am now referred to Stroke team and back on Cardio teams list.Was discharged 18 months,ago as,AF was fairly quiet.....(!!!???)

[rosyG]

Sorry to hear your news- Kardia is great. I don't use it much, just when I think somethings is happening. You can send results by e mail to doctor etc. If you have short runs that have gone when you get to GP etc it's good to be able to show what had happened- very good bit of kit!!

[wilsond in reply to rosyG]

Thank you rosy g

TBH,I'm not sure it was a TIA,they said they were treating the event as if it was..no probs on CT scan, ECG or bloods,but Somme similar symptoms.

I'm happy to go with them,as now I feel better protected against stroke, my big fear having lost my mum to hemorrhagic stroke and dad also having big stroke

Thank you for your time

[C66t in reply to rosyG]

Which Kardia monitor did you get and where?I live in Ireland. Best of luck.

[wilsond in reply to C66t]

Hi,not got one yet wanted to see what people thought!I'll share how I get on..thank you

[Samuel68 in reply to wilsond]

HI, I like mine, it gives me piece of mind, when I have a palpitation I can quickly check to see if it is Afib, so far so good I think it is worth the purchase.

[wilsond in reply to Samuel68]

Thank you Samuel x

[F-M-C-MM in reply to C66t]

Try Amazon online

[wilsond in reply to F-M-C-MM]

Cheers!

[BobD Volunteer]

As RosyG suggests BUT avoid if you are the slightest bit OCD or a worrier as they can take over your life. Better to get on with life than worry all the time.

[wilsond in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob,yes I can see the temptation to go over the top checking etc.I think I'd we it more as a tool to check out unusual events or new feelings. I do have a BP. Monitor at home,and when first had it,tempted to get my moneys worth!

I've been so angry this weekend with my GP,knew I should have been anti coated before now,thought a Kardia might give me and hub some reassurance instead of relying on own judgement alone.

Thank you Bob

[Hidden]

I am a great fan of the Kardia! I use it whenever I feel something is amiss ..and it usually is. I'm reassured when all is ok.

To begin with it was my new toy but the novelty wears off. Nevertheless it is attached to my phone amd has captured multiple atrial ectopics over 30 seconds when I was feeling very breathless with minimal exertion a few days ago. I knew this because I had the reading analysed by Kardia. If I hadn't had the device I would have been even more worried ! I know that ectopic beats are generally harmless.

Unless you are a serious worrier I consider the device invaluable.( But even if you were surely the device could give you reassurance ?!)

Sandra

[wilsond in reply to Hidden]

Thank you,that was very helpful. That's how I thought I would use it,as a kinda of second opinion from myself!!!

Keep well

[Buffafly]

I was obsessive at first but it wore off, however very handy when I was able to demonstrate to GP then cardiologist then EP that I was having long pauses in HB on the meds I was taking. Very useful!

[wilsond in reply to Buffafly]

Thank you Buffafly!

[fallingtopieces]

Buying a Kardia was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

The most important use it has is to put your mind at rest, reassuring you when everything’s ok. However, If your heart is playing up it will record proof of what is happening for you to act on if necessary. I see that as a win win situation.

Pat

[wilsond in reply to fallingtopieces]

Thank you Pat,that's kind of what I hope for too!in the wee small hours when you're sat up reading etc,wondering what's going on.....much better than vague conversations or pencilled notes in back of books!thank you definetly getting one.

Any special model?have a good weekend

[fallingtopieces]

There’s only one. It’s universal and sticks to the back of your phone, recording via the phone’s microphone. You will also need to install the Kardia app from the App Store onto your phone.

I’ve had iPhones for years but think it’s exactly the same process for other smart phones.

You won’t regret buying it and you’ll marvel at how good it is.

(Dr Dave, the Kardia’s inventor, comes on this forum sometimes)

Pat

[wilsond in reply to fallingtopieces]

Thank you for that information, so glad I found this forum,its a great help !

Sounds good,I'm ordering one off Amazon today.

[wilsond in reply to wilsond]

I'll look out for Dr Dave o here,I'll do a search

[Dodie117]

Agree with others. Very useful and puts mind at rest when you feel something unusual but you get a reading saying "no abnormalities detected". My doctors were very interested and wanted to see the tracings.

I also had a suspected TIA (never proven) but GP really slow on the anticoagulants. In the end I went to A&E when having a bad episode and they prescribed warfarin. I changed GPS after that.

Finally, had ablation in Nov 2013 had a bumpy 5 months but all settled down and AF free since then. Remain on apixaban and all great

Good luck on your journey 🍀

[wilsond in reply to Dodie117]

Thank you ,sounds similar story to mine!I'm thinking of changing GP too,as I'd been saying for months I'm not well and ought I be ant I coagulated??? TIA or suspected TIA might he blessing in disguise,as now I've been seen at hospital and meds changed..thank you for your time. X

[Visitingcat]

I am very glad I bought my kardia, I would say I am quite an anxious person but after checking a lot when I first got it I now only check it if I feel any symptoms, not really very often.

I had a successful cardioversion a couple of years ago from persistent af and have had about 3 or 4 episodes since then which last about 30 hours. I am only under the care of my gp now and find the kardia very reassuring, if my af ever gets bad again enough to complain to the gp I have proof of what’s happened to me.

[wilsond in reply to Visitingcat]

Thank you Cleocat!nice to know its useful xx

[Thebeatgoeson]

Agree it's convenient and clear. I use mine on and off. My only quibble is that it doesn't analyse readings if your heart rate is below 50 (which mine quite often seems to be, when no AF is occurring, for some reason).

[Thebeatgoeson in reply to Thebeatgoeson]

Oh, and buy your Kardia from the Arrhythmia Alliance, not from Amazon. I did and it came fast. Far better that they should get a small cut than Jeff Bezos/Amazon, who're already doing fine.

[wilsond in reply to Thebeatgoeson]

Thank you Thebeatgoeson...great name btw!

[Elsieclarke]

Hi

I wouldn’t be without my Kardia. I only use it when I have symptoms and it reassures me when my heart goes back to normal. I am also able to take it to cardiologists appointments to show whats been going on. My friend at work used my kardia a couple of months ago as he felt like he was. Having ectopics. It showed that he did in fact have AFIB and have now followed up with cardiologists and they have confirmed. He was itherwise going to just accept it as ectopics !

In hospital it meant they didn’t put in a loop recorder (i think thats what its called) when they realised I had a Kardia.

Elsie

[wilsond]

Thank you Elsieclarke x