My husband called an ambulance when I’d had a short AF episode which left my bp gradually rising to 198/102
Saw the dr the next day who increased my losartan by a small amount but then my bp dropped to 88/48
Anyone got any advise on this and the best Home bp monitor to buy with af please
I find myself getting more worked up over the bp than the af at the moment and I know the monitors aren’t always accurate with af but dr said to take the average of 3 readings
Would be grateful for any advise thanks Jan
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Janshep
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I was told by my doctor to buy an Omron BP monitor, I then took it to the surgery and we checked readings against their monitor to ascertain accuracy.
Difficulty with home monitors is we tend to check and recheck and check again and can become taken over with monitoring. Same with the Kardia monitor. Key is to check several readings as per GP instruction then put it away before it takes on a life of its own.
Hard to do as I have found to my cost. I now check once a week and more frequent if I feel off with my heart. Hope you find a helpful balance that calms you but gives youbthecreading you need if you feel you are having problems. Be well, big hug. X
Thanks for your reply the main reason I’m checking is because I’m getting constant dizzy spells and have told the dr but it’s seems when you have AF it gets the blame for everything x
Considering they say 2% of the country has AF my dr seems to have very little knowledge of it and I sometimes feel he’s learning on me and I’m not knocking him because he has always been there for me and my large family x
I only ever use mine when my GP asks me for a 7 day chart. When I first got it I used it a lot with attendant worries and only really started to feel normal when the batteries went flat. Why do you need it?
I use an Omron M10-IT which can store data for 2 separate users. There is software with it to allow you to upload to your PC and print out graphs for readings over a period of 7 days. I haven’t had AF when using it but it gives a warning when it detects ectopics. I bought it from Amazon.
I use the Microlife Watch BP Home BP monitor. Usually I only use it when I feel like it or, as with a few weeks ago when I was woken in the early hours with my heart banging away like it was trying to get out of my chest and the BP monitor flashed up a message I was in AF. I few portable ECG machine checks which showed totally chaotic electrical activity with the heart which lasted around 5 hours.
Kardia is of limited value as they only support it for a small range of smartphones, so unless you have an iPhone of some sort or a Samsung product the Kardia will not be supported for many other phones. My phone is a recently acquired Motorola Moto Z2Play, a fairly up market bit of kit and it is not supported, in fact Kardia only support one Moto device, and it isn't mine.
This device is one of several approved by NICE in identifying AF.
I have to take issue with your view of the Kardia. The 'small range of smart phones' includes every up to date Android or iOs tablet OR smart phone on the market - at least 95% of all tablets and phones sold. Windows and others have less than 2% each on my quick Google search.
However, this is comparing apples and oranges. The OP was about blood pressure, and the Kardia is a one-lead ECG for measuring your heart's electrical activity and has no relevance to this discussion.
Just saying what Kardia told me in an email. Their range does not extend to all smartphones but a limited range of which my phone ( a Nov 17 model) does not suit their product. They told me if I bought Kardia and used it with my phone they would not support it because they had not appropriately tested their product with my phone! End of ! It is not my view ...... words from them, Kardia, not me.
Thanks for clarifying Hidden . Out of interest, and also to help others reading the forum, which mobile phone did you choose to buy? I've only experience of two, one Samsung and my latest a 'Motorola' now actually Lenovo. Both are Android, and I can't see why any modern Android phone or tablet wouldn't work with the Kardia. I'm less sure about iOS, as I know that the latest iPhones have the latest iOS, but they still market earlier models with older versions of the operating system and apart from the financial advantages, can't see why they would do that.
I've just looked at their own website, and note that they only specify Samsung, LG, Google and Motorola out of hundreds of Android phones. I suspect that the range available is just too great for them to actually test all Android models, so they've given up. I still believe there is no reason for any Android phone with Android 4 or later not to work with the Kardia. As long as the app will run on it, it should work fine.
It's disappointing to see that the company seem to favour the Apple company's products though.
My phone that I chose is the Motorola Moto Z2 Play by Lenovo, Nov 2017. The list on the Kardia website does not list it. It does list another Moto device ( can't remember the model) but not mine. Incidentally I chose this device for 2 main reasons, long battery life and camera capability. I did challenge Kardia on this, and all credit to them, they acknowledged this but as they hadn't tested their product on my device they could not offer support. I agree, an android is an android, if Kardia make a product for one android, why wouldn't it work for another. Strange. But I guess in a legal sense they are being honest and transparent about their products capabilities. Maybe they have had experiences with a product that has been returned under warranty and found they had not tested the product with any particular phone.
Apologies for the digression away from the subject.
I have been collecting daily blood pressure data for over 10 years on a spread sheet on which I include my weight and medicines taken and any notes I want to add on the day's events. I Have two Omron blood pressure machines, an M5 which cost £100 and an M2 which cost £20. The battery life and speed of providing a reading are better on the M5 but it is no more accurate than the M2. Which? currently recommend the M2 as a best buy and the last time I looked Asda had it at £20.
Omron m6 it comfort with bi linksoftware, 2 users 90 readings each user stored in memory, does the averages on last 3 readings am and pm per week. It allows upload to a pc using omrons site. The data can be printed and charted and exported to a spreadsheet. It gives similar readings to the machines in hospitals in my recent experience!. It has an arrhythmia sensor/ indicator.
I got it last July after a week long a fib episode. Contrary to others I find it useful / comforting to know my BP and how it has evolved. Useful in discussion with doctors including discussions about the effect of meds when I have changed doses. I agree in part with others comments on the fact that you do get almost obsessed with the readings because I have been, but this wears off when you get used to your BP and trends. It is very useful when your are in afib/ flutter and are worried about what is going on and you feel tense and then you take a reading and realise your BP is not so high as you imagined it could be. However please note that the pulse shown on the monitors is likely to be incorrect when in arrhyhmia. When I was in flutter a month ago sometimes the readings were half the actual I.e showing 70 plus when the actual was 140! Or anyhere in between the two numbers.
Some later models of omron link via a smartphone. I paid £50+ on EBAY for mine. I wanted the memory/pc link so was happy to pay the extra. If I had to rely on me writing it down and filing it I would forget to do it!
It sounds as though your stress is making your BP go up and then when you're calm, with the increase in Losartan, it's going down too low. Stress, makes my BP go sky high too.
Surely it's not a good idea to be prescribed a higher dose of medication to cover the times when it's sky high, better to work out what your BP is most of the time or the average.
I guess you know that drinking plenty of water will bring your BP up if it's too low.
Hee hee, Hidden 's post sent my BP up just now. I must try not to take all this too seriously, serious as the subject is! Time for another glass of water. Thanks Jean.
You are so right . Some people have normal BP until they make a doctor visit ,then BP goes up .That's stress in my opinion. My wife is one that has that experience.
My consultant at the hypertension centre told me to take four readings over a ten minute period and to believe them if three were in the same range as I have AF.
I use the Omron portable wrist monitor, I think it cost around $60. It was the same exact one that one of my doctors was using. So I figured if it's accurate enough for him, it should work for me.
Took my blood pressure in the middle of an AF incidence. BP was high on both measures. It appears this is one of the consequences when in AF. If you have other heart problems this may well need a hospital visit. I just sat in a quiet place and meditated/relaxed until symptoms had passed, (if you get stressed this will make the AF last longer - my experience). If you become breathless and pains in chest arm or jaw - straight to AE via paramedics, do not let anyone take you there in a car. Home BP monitors are fine in my experience. Sit quietly for 10 mins, then take three readings averaging the last two. Don't take BP after a meal, alcohol, exercise etc. Take the same time every time you take it. Only need to take BP once every two to four weeks at most. If BP is stable and within limits high figure less than 140 greater than 120, low figure less than 85 greater than 75. then this should be ok, if you have any doubts consult you cardiac nurse or GP at the surgery
I have the omron M3 which tells me if I have an irregular heartbeat by showing a symbol. Both my doctor and the cardiologist were impressed with the results and in fact the omrons are used in the doctors surgery. Don't bother with the wrist types as they are not as accurate. Not all the omrons show the irregular heartbeat but I think all from the M3 up do. The M3 I would suggest is ample though and cost me £40 from Amazon. Money well spent.
I use the Omron machine and have done for many years. I do take it to the doctors occasionally just to check it against theirs. It has proved to be quite accurate. What I would say is try not to get too obsessed with it ( like I did in the beginning) as squeezing your arm too often will give false results. Hope this has helped.
Janshep, BP of 88/48 is low especially if accompanied by dizziness. Keep after your docs until you get an answer. There are many causes of hypotension and/or dizziness. For example, I have found for myself that diuretics, (water pill), can dramatically lower BP. I bottomed out at 55/35 this past September, five months post ablation. I had taken my usual diuretic on a very hot day and worked out in the heat all day leading to dehydration. My concern for you is dizziness is abnormal. It can lead to injuries, and interferes with your happiness and well being.
HI i was taken off metoprolol finally after 2 years post A.F , Stroke and removal Thyroid Cancer.Why had breathless years ago with it. Been high and low.
Your drug is in that Beta Block family.
The better drug for A.F. is Bisoprolol. Start low dosage and add if necessary.
Take care, JOY
I had Losartan but I lost protein and it showed in my urine.
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