I could do with advice on using a Kardia 6 lead EKG monitor.
I've followed included instructions and have taken my first reading.
It has confirmed the fact that I am still in af but can't understand how to interpret the reading. Mine looks crazy so I suspect there is something wrong with the way I set it up.
Can anybody give me advice?
a picture might help
You profile does not given even one detail of your medical history or what country you live in. Without this information and without seeing the graphs no-one here can possibly dare to offer a comment.
I use a Kardia and have found it very useful for my understanding of my symptoms and what they look like on a graph. And greatly useful for sending the graphs to my cardiologist, saving us both time, which was why it was suggested by my Doctor.
Try and put information on your profile at least. But best would be for you to email the Kardia graphs to your Doctor.
Thank you for the advice. Does a person have to join the suggested group to send info to specialist?
Sorry Maws I don't understand your question and wonder if I did not reply to you clearly. I suggested that Kardia is used ultimately for sending the graphs it supplies to your own Doctor who is treating you. In my case the cardiologist who saw me suggested i consider buying a Kardia, taking a reading when next I had AFib and emailing the graph to him. This is easy to do as once the reading is taken, you have the option to email it.
Sounds to me that you need to speak with your Doctor. No one here can advise you and you should not try to understand the graph on your own if you are new to this.
All the best. I'm guessing you are in the UK. Cardiologists here use and recommend this machine but should speak with you first.
What do you mean by ‘suggested group’? If you log in to the app you should see a couple of options above and to the right of the reading which allow you to send for an interpretation (paid for) or save as pdf. As I get free storage my app may look a bit different to yours because I also have ‘History’ showing all my previous recordings. I think now you have to pay for that facility but it isn’t a necessity.
It is not up to you to interpret the reading - the Kardia has confirmed you are in AF because it does the interpretation for you. A recording of AF does look crazy because your heartbeat is! Sometimes you can get a lot of interference which makes it look worse but if it was too bad to make an interpretation it would tell you. Did you expect to get any more information? You can pay for a more detailed report but the best thing to do is send a reading (not a shower) to your cardiologist/EP if you feel your condition has changed. Hope that helps?
What does it say if it can't interpret ?
If the problem is interference because of movement or electrical equipment it says there is ‘too much artefact’ I think. If your rhythm doesn’t fit the algorithm for AF or NSR it says ‘Unclassified’. I often get that at the end of an episode when my heart hasn’t quite settled.
Please be aware that every time you take a reading the data is stored in the cloud, call me paranoid, but I see no reason to my correct birth date and exact height in the profile. One inch and 6 months out is good enough for me. They have your E Mail, why give them more data.
Good point
Only if you’ve paid for that!
Thanks for this useful info
The readings are all over the place for the first few seconds, then it settles down. I find the best way to look at it is to email the result to myself then I can open the attachment on my desktop PC. The 6 lead reading is best when pressing the thumbs down either side with the back pressed against the inside top of my knee.
I recently read a lot of reviews for the Kardia on Amazon, as we just bought one. One of them said that if you send your graph off to their company to interpret, what you get back will be quite limited, they only have a few conditions they are authorized to tell you about. Whereas your own doctor is authorized to tell you a lot more.
I used mine quite a bit after ablation, in the states, pretty good info, if I record monthly I’m sent a reading let’s me see where I’m at. Reassuring.
You need to relax and support your arms and moisten the contacts before taking a reading in a quiet area. Turn off the enhanced setting. If you don't have the history function email the recording to yourself as a PDF and save it on your phone or PC. You could print out the PDFs or email them to your doctor.Take a reading when you are experiencing symptoms, as this is the advantage of the Kardia device over a routine ecg if you have periodic symptoms.
Kardia monitor artefacts
Kardia monitor 
Kardia
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EKG results 
