Heart rate apps

[vaga_v]

Hi to all! I am just wondering how many of you are using some kind of heart rate apps. What is your experience? I found info about the accuracy of heart rate apps - some study found huge variability between commercially available apps, even those using the same technology. Any suggestion on it?

[Londongul]

I am using Kardia mini ECG and app. It is ok but can produce a lot of interference from time to time

[vaga_v in reply to Londongul]

Thank! Any suggestion on free phone apps.?

[Londongul in reply to vaga_v]

The app with the basic membership is free but you would need to buy mini ECG machine that costs around £100. Sorry, I haven't explored any other apps as Kardia worked well for me.

[vaga_v in reply to Londongul]

Thank you so much. Kardia mini is an option, too.

[bennie06 in reply to vaga_v]

I use Cardiograph though i stress that any app should not be reled upon for accuracy. Was pleasantly surprised with mine when it was reasonably ok when compared with an ECG. Only take 3 readings daily and ok for detecting patterns. Good luck.

[vaga_v in reply to bennie06]

I tried Cardio, it seems correct compared to Boso cuff BP/heart rate device i use.

[Buffafly]

Phone apps work by registering pulse (blood flow) so are not accurate for AF, the Kardia registers electrical impulses.

[Mickhall in reply to Buffafly]

What about blood pressure monitor like doctors use, when ever I have had an ECG and blood pressure check in same consultation my heart rate seems to tally. Am I mistaken?

[Buffafly in reply to Mickhall]

I am quoting what I have been told but I think the answer to that is 'it depends'. If most of your beats are strong enough and far enough apart despite being irregular then blood pressure monitor, oximeter, phone app and ECG would probably all be reasonably accurate, I think. I have found my oximeter struggles to register when I have a very irregular beat. Next time I have AF (hoping that is a long way away!) I shall compare my results as I have a BP monitor which shows irregular HB.

[vaga_v in reply to Buffafly]

I clearly understand benefits of Kardia, just waiting to lower the price a bit :))

[Buffafly in reply to vaga_v]

😀

[beardy_chris]

I'm in permanent AF and I've been using a Fitbit for about a month. The results seem sensible but I haven't had them independently validated. When I compare pulse rates with my blood pressure checker they seem to match but the Fitbit, being continuous, picks up some peaks and troughs that I can't be sure are correct.

I like it - but it is best not to become obsessed with it!

[vaga_v]

You are right, it is so easy to become obsessed with it! 2 months after my 2nd PAF (vagal?) I am of the drugs (checked by cardiologist), still in very strange mood.

[KMRobbo]

Yes you may be mistaken on the BP monitor. When I have have been in AF and atrial flutter (more recently) neither my omron M6 BP monitor, nor the ones in A&E nor the MAU would register my correct HR. Up to 50 % out showing 70 plus when ECG shows 140 plus!

When I was in flutter the MAU BP monitor struggled for even measuring blood pressure, constantly restarting.

My chest belt Garmin GPS running watch does a good job of giving an HR comparable to the hospital ECG but this has 4 hours max charge and of course does not tell you you are in arrhythmia.( I already owned the garmin before AF)

I have used the Garmin to measure my HR and the omron m6 to confirm arrhythmia.

When I had flutter I did not really need either device to tell me I was in a fast arrhythmia!

[Flyer2820]

Hi vaga_v

I have a miband 2 which measures bpm heart rate. Although as others have said they may not be totally accurate but it does indicate when I have an irregular heartbeat as the bpm goes up and down like a yoyo.

The price is about a quarter of the Fitbit and it is very good. If it indicates af then I check myself out with a finger pulse and my blood pressure monitor. It has never been wrong.

Well worth the money.

Regards Flyer.

[vaga_v in reply to Flyer2820]

Great idea, my daughter has it for workouts!

[Flyer2820 in reply to vaga_v]

Hello again vaga_v

My son bought me the miband 2 for my birthday as I had just been diagnosed with AF. It was definitely a good thing to buy me. Just make sure that you get the real makoy as there are some Chinese people selling counterfeit goods on eBay.

Wishing you well.

Regards Flyer.

[momist]

I am lucky enough to have been able to buy myself a Kardia just a couple of days after my first AF event. I read an awful lot on here in that two days, and simply made the decision this is for my health; and is a priority.

After ten months and two more AF occurrences, I am a lot more relaxed about my pulse rate in between, and now have a Fitbit (Christmas present) that keeps a check on HR well enough. The Kardia ONLY gets used if I'm feeling unwell, and then usually shows normal heart activity so confirms I have indigestion or something else. The thing is though, when you ARE in AF, the apps and the Fitbit give false readings anyway, so they're not much help at that point.

You are far better checking your pulse manually, either at your wrist or at your neck, to detect if it is irregular. If it is regular, then you can trust most of the free apps to give you a figure, but if you are in AF, then knowing your pulse does not tell you what your heart is doing, as not all the hearts activity is generating a pressure pulse through your blood vessels.

During my last AF, the Fitbit read HR as 79 resting, which is high, but the Kardia was showing 148 at that time!

[vaga_v]

Thanks momist for your reply! With my 1st PAF my arm cuff BP/HR device (with fibrillation alert) showed HR 160, during 2nd HR 120, both times fibrillation alert was on , which was later confirmed on ECG. So, it was more or less correct. Short after PAF episodes I was dragging the stuff to the office, but it so unconfortable to messure it during the day. I do not want to sound as kind of controll freak, but now, off the drugs I might feel more confortable with some possibility to check my puls during my working day.