Thinking of getting into this bit of kit - the one thing that holds me back is their list of mobile phones compatibility. Frankly, its awful ! Most of the phones listed on their compatibility section are pretty ancient.
My question is - has any Kardia user ignored the compatibility list and owned a phone NOT on the list and had a trouble free time with the Kardia.
I've already emailled Kardia Support (with details of my phone) but got a very (understandably) unhelpful reply. They just refer me to their compatibility section of their website.
Yes! My phone is a samsung android, it is not on the compatable list. I too contacted Alivcor support and was told my phone wasnt supported. I think they advise this if they havent tested that particular model.
However, I took a punt and bought a Kardia single lead anyway with the view that i would upgrade my phone if I needed to....but it works fine, no problems so far.
As a new afibber I have found the Kardia very reassuring as I get to know my 'normal' and Ive used it a lot this first month!!
Thanks for your comments. Your views pretty much echo my own gut feeling. I think this compatibility thing reflects issues they had right back in the day when a great many phones just weren't able to handle the Kardia App. Right back when it was first introduced. Its a get out for Kardia is what I'm saying. The one thing I noticed in their compatibility guide is most Android phones listed seemed to be of the lower to mid market price range. Can't comment on Iphone/tablets as I have no experience of them.
Thank you for that baba. Unless I read here of anything very sinister or unless I read anything online I'll most likely go ahead and make the purchase and use my existing Motorola Andropid phone.
Hi, I have a Motorola G5 Android phone and a Samsung Android tablet, husband has a Samsung S7 phone and my Kardia 6 lead works fine with all of them. Chris
I'm using a Huawei P30 (not on their list) for both 2 Lead and 6 Lead - no problems. The 2L is likely to be more fussy in respect to phones than the 6L as the 2L uses sound communication rather than the standard Bluetooth used by the 6L.
Hi ClickerTicker .... thanks for that - I guess that's the main consideration as the years have unfolded phone technology ( in the context of Wifi and Bluetooth) have improved relative to the day when Kardia first entered the marketplace.
I had one on a non compatible phone and it just said irregular for everything. When I spoke to kardia they blamed the phone and gave me a full refund. I found it more stressful than helpful but then I know immediately if I'm in Afib so it'd be different if you didn't.
Thanks for that - originally, I knew I was in AF ( mine is paroxysmal AF ) and my Cardiac Consultant did advise me that I was asymptomatic ( could be in AF and not have any symptoms). I do have an existing device but it is handheld and the contacts are not particularly reliable not matter how much I clean them and it is a few years old now. so I am looking around.
Hi. My older two lead Kardia has worked with all the mobile phones I've had, until my latest one (One+ 5T). That's Vivacity, Samsung S4 mini, Motorola G5. It also worked with my Hudl2 and still works with my Huawei M6 tablet.
The issue with the two lead Kardia seems to be that higher end phones with fancy noise cancelling microphones filter out the high frequency sound that the device uses to convey the signal. The newer 6 lead Kardia uses Bluetooth for that, and is likely to work with pretty much every Android phone for that reason.
I wouldn't worry if I was buying the 6 lead, but the 2 lead will be a gamble, depending on your phone.
Following on from comments made by Dr.Dave01 about India prompted me to go into the Alivecor India website and I find that many people who commented on my original post told me the phones/tablets that they used with Alivecor and most of them appear on the India compatibility list ............ but not on the alivecor UK website.
Hello! I have attached a link to the AliveCor compatibility list as per their website store.alivecor.co.uk/produc... If you would like any help or advice on using the device ? visit the A F Association website to view the demo video heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
Well that not is the point. The point is that my existing one is a handheld device and the contacts are causing problems. It is ( like me ) aging. Sometimes I get an immediate contact and a reading but mostly I don't or it takes me ages and ages to get an absolute contact. Thus I am now having a crisis of confidence with the device. Almost certainly todays Bluetooth technology is much superior, not just with Kardia but other devices which relay info direct to the Smartphone app rather than ( as my old bit of kit does - save it to the devices memory).
Hi John I just wondered why you were looking at a Kardia 6, rather than getting a new Kardia. The Kardia and various watches produce a one lead ECG. As far as I was concerned, my Apple watch did all that was needed. It told me when my AF started, how long it lasted for and when it stopped. However, my ECGs were all very similar and all above the line.
I thought that the point of a Kardia 6 was that it could help your cardiologist diagnose more complicated ECGs and/or where the episodes were more intermittent.
I was under the impression that the Kardia 6L was the most up to date version which is why I was looking at it. My existing device worked off either leads or palms of the hand. Using the leads is too messy and now the device has aged, the palm readings are too unreliable, assuming I can get a contact at all.
I have read repeatedly that many such devices are most effective when applied to fingers, i.e. trying getting a pulse oximeter to give you a reading from an ear lobe or your wrist. It does seem that fingers can reveal quite a bit.
I'm no expert on the Kardia but I think you are mistaken in thinking that the Kardia 6L is just the most up to date version of it.
The Kardia works by putting a finger from the left hand on one contact and another from the right on the other. The signal goes across the body via electrodes. The watches like the Galaxy, which works with Android and other phones, and the Apple, which works with iPhones, have an electrode on the wrist and another which is touched by the finger of the other hand.
With the Kardia 6 you touch the two contacts and then touch the contact on the back of the device to one of your knees or ankles.
It can give more information but what I was asking was 'do you need more information, what do you hope to get out of it'?
Physalis, its probably best for you to go into AliveCor UK website .... and also have a look at alivecor India website and trawl through it all. I know how it works, and I know what the advertising blurb says - which is fine. Why do I need it - well, i thought I'd explained that in an earlier response. Its all about contacts.
Contacts, the Kardia 6 works off fingers and the skin on your knee or ankle.
The ordinary Kardia works off two fingers. You must have a very old one if it works off leads and the palm of your hand.
I've looked at the alivecor india website and it says
"KardiaMobile 6L is the only personal ECG device in the world that can detect the three most common arrhythmias or irregular heartbeat-atrial fibrillation (AFib), bradycardia, and tachycardia, which require regular monitoring and a healthy lifestyle"
If I had AFib and bought this then I would only use it as a single lead ECG. Personally, after looking at a few ECGs I would be able to detect tachycardia, a fast regular heartbeat, or bradycardia, a hr under 60bpm.
Personally, I would only buy a Kardia 6 if I wanted to be able to give the doctors a more comprehensive readout to help them work out what was the matter with me.
I knew I had AFib, they knew I had AFib, so I didn't need anything more complicated.
As for bradycardia, my resting heart rate is about 58.
When I talked about my existing device I NEVER, NEVER said it was an Alivecor !! I didn't even name it. I described it as a handheld device with contacts that were no longer functioning correctly leading me to have no confidence in the device readings. I did say that my device contacts fitted in the palm of my hands. That doesn't even begin to describe Alivecor !
To eliminate any further confusion my aging device is a Heal Force PC-80B. Further it doesn't do anything other than record an ECG.
I’d go for it, but get it from somewhere that will let you return it. Worth a try.
Thank you for that advice. I shall look into it further, although, the comments made by so many others here in which they nominate a wide range of Android and other devices suggest you are quite correct.
Thanks for that ....no, indeed I wasn't aware of that. Might need to explore further.
Hiya DrDave,
Well, I have just clicked on your 'User Name' and scrolled back to posts of 4 years ago. That fills a few gaps in my thinking.
I have gone into AliveCor India website and was amazed to see exactly what you were saying. In a nutshell ... AliveCor Uk website endorses 63 phones/tablets ..... AliveCor India website on the otherhand endorses some 101 phones tablets.
So from this observation, why is this so. Surely its a case of same product ... same App why is UK so far behind India.
Another observation is that on AliveCor UK the first 8 phones (all Google) are Android 11 with another 2 (also google) being Android 10 ..... whereas in AliveCor India all the first 10 (Google phones) are Android 10. So is the India version Android 10 exactly the same as the UK version Android 11 - just a play with names as opposed to functions.
Hmmmmmm !
I notice that quite a few people who responded to my original post named their phones ( make/model etc) and a great many of these appear on the Alivecor India website compatibility section.
For my old Kardia, I always just lick my fingers before using it, to improve the electrical contact. It doesn't seem to harm the device in any way, and I've not had a poor contact since. What does cause problems are; first, interference from other electrical sources or a noisy environment; second, a poor audio connection (mainly because of where I am holding the device it is linking to). You have to be careful not to mask the microphone, or cause it to pick up extra noises.
If someone here is thinking about buying the 6L, Amazon has it for $20 less today than they and everyone else have priced it for the past few months.
Apple and Samsung smartwatches look fun, and I love the idea of a multipurpose EKG on the wrist. But if I wore any smartwatch, a ring of welts would rise just under my hand in a matter of hours.
If only they made truly hypoallergenic smart watches. Titanium versions still press nickel against the skin, and the nail varnish trick (applying a coat to the part of the watch that touches your wrist) stops the sensor from measuring your heart rate.
If you have sensitive skin and AFib, as I do, remember that smart watches are a painful way to monitor yourself. That's the primary reason I opted for something else.
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