Back in AF : How can I get a heart rate... - Atrial Fibrillati...

Atrial Fibrillation Support

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Back in AF

29 Replies

How can I get a heart rate App for my mobile ?

I’ve just had my first Cardioversion, for persistent AF back in after NSR.....after 3rd Zap.....but 2 days later, I seem to be skipping a beat ? Not 100% sure though ! Thinking of getting it checked out , but in meantime I’d like to be certain myself.

Can anyone suggest a reliable, reasonably priced, monitor ??

On the bright side, they did actually get my dicky ticker ticking over.....

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29 Replies
BobD profile image
BobDVolunteer

Kardia/Alivcor is the only one worth buying if you reall really MUST have one. Personally I hate the things as I became very OCD about it. .

Achant1 profile image
Achant1

Kardia is a great piece of kit, as long as you don’t become chained to it.

Jalia profile image
Jalia in reply toAchant1

Absolutely ....i was chained to mine but the novelty eventually wore off !

Physalis profile image
Physalis

I've got an Apple Watch, series 4 but now you can only get the series 6 one. From about £379 so not cheap but I've never got tired of it. You can do an ECG anywhere, monitors your heart rate about 300 times a day, there's a sleep app, I find the timer useful, I do about 1000 steps a day which is not very good and so on. I can look at it now and see that my heart rate is 70, resting rate 55 and walking average 101.

I've never worn a watch before but now I wear this one all day and all night.

However, that's me, you might not like it. But if you are trying to capture something it's right there. Oh, and if you are getting on a bit then it has fall detect, asks if you are alright and if you don't reply it rings your contacts. Fortunately haven't had to use that. It's why I bought it in the first place.

in reply toPhysalis

Snap. I love mine.

irene75359 profile image
irene75359 in reply toPhysalis

I fell off a valley track on to a steep slope seven weeks ago in rural Spain and broke my wrist. I was lying there totally stunned and my watch vibrated and asked if I had had a fall - I managed to get it together enough to tap an answer and stop services being called as I had help at hand - so it definitely works!

in reply toPhysalis

Hardly reasonably priced though

Physalis profile image
Physalis in reply to

No, it isn't and I said that. However, does the Kardia record your heart rate every four or five minutes so that you can look at it days or weeks ahead. Can you look at what your heart has been doing for the past week, or month, or year? Does it record your heart rate variability? Does it tell you to stand up, you've been sitting down too long? Does it prompt you to breathe deeply for a minute?

I might very well have bought a Kardia if I hadn't been so mean - I bought a wrist monitor which I thought was accurate until I realised it was totally inaccurate when I was in AF.

I think the fall detect can be very useful for old people who do have a lot of falls. My friend Brian had a fall in his house and couldn't get up and was on the floor for 30 hours! He probably would have died if someone hadn't contacted the police and a firefighter hadn't got in through an upstairs window. He spent some time in hospital and has now moved up to Scotland, near to his daughter.

foxglove1 profile image
foxglove1 in reply toPhysalis

Kardia and Apple Watch 4.

Physalis profile image
Physalis in reply tofoxglove1

You can't get the Apple watch 4 or 5 any more only the 6 but they all have the ECG and heart monitoring. What does the Kardia do that the Apple watch doesn't?

Paulbounce profile image
Paulbounce

First off it's great news you went back in to sinus - even if for just a few days it shows treatements can work for you.

Often a CV seems to be the first port of call to see how it pans out.

First question - what med's are on you on ?

Second question Following first one -if you suspect you are in afib you need to be on an anticoalgulant,

I know after my first CV panic mode kicked in- I checked ny pulse every few mintues. It's almost like an obsession.

If you want device to check your HR the Kardia comes highly recomemmeded on here. Peronally I use the beurer ME 90 which gives a quick and instant reading.

However - try not to let these devices take over your life. It's easy to do at first - you're checking every 5 minutes. For me now it's once a day AND that's it.

I hope all works out for you and good luck with staying in sinus.

Paul

Barb1 profile image
Barb1

I use heart rate monitor on my Android phone

Mugster profile image
Mugster in reply toBarb1

So did I

it's good enough to show you if you are in AF and give a HR reading and it's free!

(I did back it up with a BP machine though)

Barb1 profile image
Barb1 in reply toMugster

Me too!

DevonHubby1 profile image
DevonHubby1

Fitbit have just launched their own watch with built in ECG function. Priced from £299. I've had the best and worst experiences with Fitbit devices so this is just for info and not a recommendation.

Two fingers on your wrist or to your neck and count. if the beat feels irregular, it's irregular, if it feels fast, it is fast.

Pretty cheap and reliable.

Other than that, a Kardia is probably the best as it is recognised by NICE in the UK and some GP's lend them out to patients if they suspect they may have AF

I recently purchased a cheap Oximeter from amazon that shows a graphic of your pulse, so you can see missed beats and the speed of your pulse, not sure how well this would work with AF though.

There are many HR apps to download , they all use the camera lens and flash to detect your pulse but are wildly inaccurate, my daughter has recently bought a Mi Band 3 to link to het phone, it does a pretty good job of HR for a normal person, but again I doubt it will be any use in AF

Physalis profile image
Physalis in reply to

You are implying that it hasn't been approved in the UK whereas the Kardia has and I think this is wrong.

"The Apple watch series 4 received FDA approval as a class II medical device. Apple claims that the device can detect falls and arrhythmias. It can also record an electrocardiogram (ECG) in 30 seconds “anytime and anywhere,” "

It's not a competition. If you just want the occasional ECG then a Kardia is fine. I did buy a Polar heart band and that was pretty useless. All I learned from that was that my AF finished in a second when I thought it might have stopped more slowly.

in reply toPhysalis

"You are implying that it hasn't been approved in the UK whereas the Kardia has and I think this is wrong."

What?, implied nothing

"The Apple watch series 4 received FDA approval as a class II medical device. Apple claims that the device can detect falls and arrhythmias. It can also record an electrocardiogram (ECG) in 30 seconds “anytime and anywhere,” "

Perfect, but the FDA is of no use in the UK, we don't become American until next year

"It's not a competition. "

Correct

If you just want the occasional ECG then a Kardia is fine

Correct, or you could buy an iPhone for £600 and a watch for £400

Physalis profile image
Physalis in reply to

Have just looked at the NICE guidelines dated Mar 2019, and they say

"There is not enough evidence to recommend the routine adoption of lead-I electrocardiogram (ECG) devices (imPulse, Kardia Mobile, MyDiagnostick and Zenicor-ECG) to detect atrial fibrillation when used for single time point testing in primary care for people with signs or symptoms of the condition and an irregular pulse. Further research is recommended to show how using lead‑I ECG devices in this way affects:

the number of people with atrial fibrillation detected, compared with current practice (see section 6.1) and

primary and secondary care services, particularly how ECGs generated by the devices would be interpreted in practice, including staff time needed to interpret the ECG traces and associated costs (see section 6.2).

1.2Centres currently using these devices for this indication are encouraged to take part in research and data collection (see sections 6.1 and 6.2)."

Next review 2022!

Physalis profile image
Physalis in reply to

I bought my iPhone second hand, you don't need the newest version.

You are making it into a competition, not me. You pays your money and makes your choice!

Do you really think it is easy to get FDA approval? I hadn't realised that we were becoming Americans next year. Where did that come from?

FancyPants54 profile image
FancyPants54 in reply toPhysalis

From years of knocking around the software industry and being in the high tech world of the Internet for business I can spot a person determined to run Apple down at a 100 paces. Don't bother. They believe what they want to believe. And not everyone needs the technology, or wants it, or can afford it. That's why there are alternatives.

Those of us in the industry know that pound for pound they are in the main excellent devices, doing clever things and if that's what you need to live and work then you can have them. I can run my web shop from anywhere using my phone. I prefer to work on my MacBook Pro, but iPad and iPhone are great if the laptop isn't there. My husband can be alerted on his phone, pick up his laptop and sort out issues for the 24/7 software support service he runs or part of BP. We can be in UK or anywhere else and he can access the servers and do what needs to be done to keep BP's marketing systems up and running. Apple devices are expensive because of the security they use, the quality of the bits and the build and the capability. The moon landings used rooms full of computers. The iPhone in my pocket has far more computing power than any of that.

I've worked with cheaper stuff. It is what it is.

Physalis profile image
Physalis in reply to

Hope you haven't left.

RoyM profile image
RoyM

Just read all this thread....and still not sure what it's all about but how good would it be lying there in agony after a fall and your watch asks you if you've had a fall. I can only imagine the replies lol suggestions in a stamped address envelope please. Lol and here's me thinking this site is a medical one lol I suppose it's 5 minutes of my life I will never get back. Stay safe everyone. Roy

Physalis profile image
Physalis in reply toRoyM

You seem to have missed the point. If you've had a fall and the watch has detected it, first of all it checks that you really have had a fall, if you don't answer or want help it rings your contacts to tell them.

Without it you could just lie there in agony.

RoyM profile image
RoyM in reply toPhysalis

Not missed the point at all..simply making a light hearted comment about the need for a watch asking me If I have fallen....perhaps British humour doesn't travel across the pond very well. Enjoy your watch........personally it's certainly not for me and neither is paying hundreds of pounds (dollers) for a device that asks if I have fallen lol. But if it rocks your boat.....does it also let you know if you're drowning lol. Anyway, stay safe and let's hope your watch never asks you if you have fallen. Cheers. Roy

Physalis profile image
Physalis in reply toRoyM

What made you think I was an American?

I knew it was lighthearted, but I don't think your message is

"for a device that asks if I have fallen lol" It's actually for a device that can get you help if you fall.

Elderly people fall. Some people buy the watch for that reason, find they have AF and get anticoagulants to prevent strokes.

Some people with AF buy the watch for the ECG and heart monitoring. It then detects a fall and summons help.

It's up to everyone to work out whether it is worth paying the money for. You obviously don't think it is. That's ok.

RoyM profile image
RoyM in reply toPhysalis

I apologise for thinking you were American or at least living in the states...lets agree to dis-agree and end the exchange. Enjoy your watch.

Physalis profile image
Physalis in reply toRoyM

Thanks, yes I will.

queseyo profile image
queseyo

As I can hear my heart beats in my left ear (carotid calcification) it tells me if it is irregular, fast, slow or even skip beats and/or ectopic beats, do I need any electronic gadget to test my ECG? any suggestions please, thanks to all AFs members.

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